Whatever's Comfortable
by J Shute Norway
Summary: Nick's life seems to be going well. He's got a new job he loves, a friend who may be more than just that and an awesome family who love him. But when he investigates a case of muzzling abuse, he risks uncovering a terrible conspiracy and losing everything to a fear that he knows far too well.
1. Chapter 1

**Foreword (number 3): This was the second fic I wrote and, looking back, it shows. It had too many different ideas, many of them badly implemented on their own and done better in others fics at a later date (Zootopia Force of Nature, Savage (by HavocHound), Three months a fox), and mashed them all together, making a tonal mess of a fic. It doesn't help that, inspired by the metaphors and symbolism of rape survival in Disney's Maleficent, I tried to do my own alternative version, having as much subtlety as a wrecking ball in doing so (with cringe-worthy results).**

 **I won't take it down, despite being embarrassed by its poor quality, as I think it's both artistically dishonest and unfair on those who would actually like the fic. I won't be rewriting it though, as I think the issues in it are more structural rather than prose deep.**

 **In short, don't take this as the standard of my usual work. If you still enjoy it regardless, good on you. If not, then please give my later fics the benefit of the doubt, I did get better.**

.

 **Chapter 1:**

"Ok Men and women, I'm sure you don't want to spend your Saturday evening here, along with your Saturday morning and afternoon, so let us get this pathetic excuse for a training session over with! Arrange yourself into threes and you will take turns practicing the fitting. Nick and Judy are separate as those two lovebirds will either be too gentle on each other or enjoy this too much. GOT THAT!"

.

Nick turned away from Bogo and met up with Fangmeyer and McHorn while, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Judy give him a thumbs up before disappearing behind Officer Francine. Standing on gym matts, the three held out their hands for a single round of rock paper scissors.

"Rock, Paper Scissors!"… Nick looked at his two partners holding out their fists towards his index and middle finger. "I'll set the scene, you step in and let's get this over with."

Fangmeyer gave Nick a nod and moved his body into an alert position before starting the performance.

"You're never taking me in alive! I'll bite off your arms before I step foot into that car!"

Nick kicked out with his heel, turning his body around in order to sprint past McHorn and to freedom. The Rhino was slow to act but as Nick went past he felt the base of his spine being painfully pulled back as his head, continuing on with all the momentum he had given it, took a nose dive to the floor. As his snout crashed into the soft foam, McHorn grabbed his two arms and pinned them behind Nicks back for handcuffing while Fangmeyer, who had grabbed Nicks tail in the first place, shuffled himself up so that his weight fixed Nicks legs to the ground.

"That's the easy part guys, now the hard bit" Nick tried to joke, but his voice came out as more of a whine.

"Really Slick Nick? You almost gave me the slip." McHorn butted in.

"He isn't talking about us, Ivory head" snarled back Fangmeyer as he grabbed Nicks lower jaw and pulled up. From his police belt he grabbed a standard issue fox muzzle which he slid onto his captives face. The cage bit in to just below Nicks eyelids as the White Wolf held back the straps and tied them up into a lock which was clamped shut. Handing McHorn the key, he grabbed Nick by the scruff of his neck and hands and pulled him upright.

"You have the right to remain silent, but anything you do or don't say could be taken into a court of the law and used against you."

Nick was glad of his rights at the moment. Looking down, he saw the cage around his jaw and by reflex tried to open his mouth. While his two rows of teeth and space between them were open to the air, the only sound coming out of them was a panicked wheeze. For 24 years, these devices had haunted the Fox's worst dreams and were guaranteed to send a shiver down his spine on sight. He couldn't hear them now, but not long away were the cries and taunts of the five scouts who had given him this fear in the first place.

"Fangmeyer! McHorn!, your charges may not be so suited to library arrests in the future. What do you do if your captive is hurling abuse!" cried out Bogo.

 _Oh God. Why Me? Why of all…._ thought Nick.

"Sir, I tighten the inner st…" begin Fangmeyer, much to Nicks relief.

"SHOW ME!"

McHorn grabbed the lever midway down the puzzle and pulled. An iron aperture began closing and painfully shut Nicks jaw shut.

 _Dumb Fox….._

 _Oh God, here they are,_ thought Nick.

 _You thought we would trust you_?

"Cheese and Cracker McHorn, he looks like a dear staring into headlights." commented Fangmeyer.

 _We would never trust a fox without a muzzle!_

"He's shaking and hyperventilating, give me the key so I can let him out McHorn."

 _Dumb Fox, run away and cry!_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST THEM! THIS ISN'T FUNNY. LOOK AT HIM!"

 _What did I do wrong?_

…. Nicks world blacked out, and he dreamt he was running out of a doorway onto an empty street. Bawling, he grabbed the device on his head and pried it off, before throwing it off.

.

His eyes opened, Fangmeyer, Bogo and Judy looked over him. He pulled in a massive breath of air and began rapidly breathing while his hands frantically searched his head to make sure the device was gone.

"Judy told me that you had a history with these devices, had I known I wouldn't of had yours tightened up. I'm not sure whether McHorn would of 'lost' said keys with such zeal had he known, but he can spend Monday on meter-maid duty, thinking about it."

"I'm… I'm… OK, I think. It's not your fault Bogo" replied a relieved Nick.

"Never said it was" sparred back Bogo, who quickly got up to address the group.

"What officer Wilde just showed was that some mammals have a phobia of a muzzle. In these days, when domestic muzzling is a hot topic, avoiding unavoidable brutality is a must. The muzzle tightening lever should only be used in EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSATANCES. Even before that, if you see your charge panicking with a muzzle on him, you should do as Fangmeyer did. Spot the panic attack, get the key and loosen or unlock. This wasn't such a joke of a training session, was it now? Back to drills."

The remaining officers, including Judy, wandered back to their drills while Bogo once again turned back to Nick. "Can you at least manage to continue the practice on your two fellow officers?"

"Yes Sir, the thing gives me the absolute heebie-jeebies, but as long as I'm not in one I can sort of function."

"Good, back to practice."

.

"I'll go next" commented McHorn who adopted a Sumo pose and roared out before charging at Fangmeyer. Nick dodged to the side and leaped onto the Rhinos back. McHorn tried to reach Nick, but like a pervasive Itch Nick was out of reach as he fumbled with a loop muzzle and threw it over McHorns titular head feature. With the lead loosly hanging around his jaw, the Rhino leapt backwards and almost crushed Nick before rolling over to try it again. Seeing his chance, Fangmeyer grabbed the Rhino's hands and slapped a pair of handcuffs around him. Finishing the job, Nick pulled hard on the lead and pulled McHorns jaws together.

"Tha's Betur thaan I ex-pec-ted…gud jub tim" commented McHorn as Nick grabbed his key and unlocked the muzzle.

"I can sort of manage putting those ones on. But I don't know if I can handle them better nor do I want to ever try" Nick replied, in a voice that sounded like he was talking about some vile deed done for the greater good.

"My turn now" shrugged Fangmeyer, "You cuff me Nick, McHorn can do the muzzle."

Fangmeyer tried to copy Nick and dart past, but he was larger and slower than his vulpine cousin and was caught by McHorn. Nick handcuffed him while McHorn fitted the muzzle. The devices were quickly taken off and the three were dismissed.

.

.

\- Nick-

.

"Hey Judy!" called Nick, "I'm going out this evening with Ash! We'll pick up our stuff from the lockers and head straight out."

"You enjoy yourself", replied the bunny, "just remember that my parents are coming over for tomorrow evening to meet you".

"I remember Officer Carrots, introducing your best friend to your parents. Third scariest thing I could go through."

Judy went her own way while Officers Nick Wilde and Ash Fangmeyer went back to the office to gather their stuff. While Nick had grown to like a number of his fellow officers, Ash was his favourite. Like many canine species, they had similar mannerisms and could read each other, as shown by the muzzle exercise. Nick had never mentioned what happened that one night to anyone but Judy, yet Ash had known early on that Nick feared the device. He had even introduced Ash to Finnick who, while a more troublesome friend to say the least, was an effective brother to Nick. They had talked for five minutes before leaving in silence, which meant that Fangmeyer had the Finnick seal of approval.

.

"So Nick, what's the second and first scariest thing you could go through?" asked Fangmeyer as they left the locker room.

"Well second is Judy introducing me to her parents as her boyfriend." Replied Nick.

"Wait, I know you've got the hots for that little bundle of chaos. Hasn't she answered back."

"She's, well the body language is all there. It's like we've got everything sorted out but haven't signed the papers."

"So why don't you? Or isn't she your true love seeing as you haven't screamed her name yet."

"Old wives tail… Just because it happened to my parents doesn't mean it's true for every fox".

"So again, why don't you?"

"Well, we just sort of… it's hard. Do I love Judy?, yes I do. Might her parents get worried at their daughter being a boyfriend with a Fox? Are Elephants heavy?"

Fangmeyer raised one eyebrow and laughed before letting out a howl. "Well, don't worry. I'll be there for you. Now and when I'm your best man!"

"Don't Joke Ash!"

"I'm not. I'd pay you. The father in law speech could be a classic for the ages! I can't miss that. It's like Clawhauser getting invited to be a Gazelle backup dancer!"

"Or Bogo…"

.

The two burst into laughter as they entered the lobby. Benjamin Clawhauser himself heard the commotion and turned to them. "What's so funny guys?"

"Oh, cruel lad jokes at each other's and your expense" beckoned back Fangmeyer.

"Ah, come on. Can I hear them?"

"Sorry Ben, I'm afraid your just not ready for PG rated jokes." Nick replied back in his happy, sly voice.

"I am a proud obese Cheetah, a member of the ZPD and unabashed Gazelle fan. Your mockery is my shield and you won't know that you're getting to me…. Not that you will!"

"Learnt from the best, have you posted a Zelp review yet?" said Nick as he waved goodbye to his friend.

"So Nick," Fangmeyer asked quietly, "The scariest thing you could do right now is the muzzle, isn't it?"

Nick, wincing from the word, shot back a quick and sudden "YES!."

"I understand and respect that." Fangmeyer retorted, with no hint of irony or sarcasm. This was why Nick liked Fangmeyer, canine connection and all that.

.

The two were about to leave when two officers burst through the door with what looked like a giant fox. He was taller than Fangmeyer and, apart from longer limbs, had a similar build to Nick albeit with fur that was longer, containing a variety of different hues ranging from cream to orange to dark red, and growing into a scraggy mane around his neck. He was twitching and shaking and had a fully tightened muzzle locked on to his face. His eyes were filled with terror and anger while foam and saliva leaked from his mouth whenever he tried to speak.

"Clawhauser, get a solitary cell ready. Found this nut terrorising a bunch of school kids this afternoon. Just screamed and shouted," said one of the ZPD officers.

"For God's sake you Morons! He has Nighthowler in his system!" screamed Nick, his voice echoing around the lobby.

"Our Job, Wilde" replied the moose officer bringing in the creature.

"AND YOUR MAKING A COMPLETE PIGS EAR OF IT! HE'S TERRIFIED!"

"He's trying to bite us."

"HE'S GOT DILUTE NIGHTHOWLER IN HIM. I CAN SMELL IT IN HIS SWEAT."

After the nighthowler case, Nick had realised that both the flowers and the victims had a faint odour in them. For many creatures, this was undetectable but, as a fox, Nick could smell it out. Had he known the vile chemical, Fangmeyer would have been able to recognise it as well.

"So what are you saying?"

"Get him into a padded cell, get that torture device off him and get the hospital to deliver some antidote. The concentration smells like it will take a day or so to wear out."

"I'll get the hospital Nick" Clawhauser reported,

"And I'll visit him tomorrow morning" replied Nick. "That muzzle better be off…"

.

.

-Judy-

.

Grabbing her things, Judy hopped to the nearest tram stop and grabbed a seat. She relaxed as they left the main square and began trundling towards the next stop. The temperature had increased somewhat and many animals were enjoying a siesta so her tram car was fairly empty with the one behind even more so. Drinking her chilled carrot juice, she planned to pop back home, change out of her uniform, and spend some time relaxing and muzzle timing with her parents. They would be coming over the tomorrow evening and staying for a farmers' union conference on the Monday (stuff about pesticide regulation and all sorts of guff she had never been interested in) and she had been worrying about what to tell them about Nick. Sure, they knew that he was a work partner and friend but they had been planning to pool in their rents and by a nice apartment rather than her bedsit and Nicks…. mushroom farm? Part of her, however, gnawed like a scarlet tick and that was the part of her worrying how her parents would react to her moving in with a Fox. Working with one was one thing but moving in would cause their minds to jump to romantic feelings (perfectly correct, after all) and she had no way of knowing how he loving but protective parents would quite react.

.

" _Help…_ "

Was she hearing things?

 _"For god's sake you vile little geldings!"_

No she wasn't. She heard the unmistakable sounds of Kids teasing someone, cruelly aware of just what they were doing. Looking around, she peeked into the carriage behind and saw the four occupants gathered together. There were three young teenagers, all prey, gathering around someone in a wheelchair who they had over powered and were spinning around. Suddenly furious, she shouted to the conductor, "STOP THIS TRAM, ZPD, a passenger behind us is being assaulted!"

The driver glanced at Judy and slowed down the tram to walking speed. Judy leapt out of the rear platform and entered the forward one on the trailing cab. As they picked up speed again she opened the door.

"Freeze ZPD!"

The wheel chair was overturned, its occupant lying on the floor and hidden from view.

"You're here to arrest him?" asked one of the Kids.

"What are you talking about. You're the ones in trouble!" snarled back Judy.

"He's faking it, has to be. We're just showing it."

"They have my wallet ma'am; my card is in there." Came a tired but dignified voice from the wheelchair.

"Give it, and you might not be spending tonight in jail" Judy said in an authoritative tone as the smallest animal handed her a small, leather wallet. She opened it up and glanced at the blue card present. Pausing, she looked up. "It's all legal. Every detail and watermark present. Hand me your phones" Judy said, quietly, like a disappointed school teacher. The Kids handed over their phones and Judy proceeded to call each Kids home address, check that she was talking to the right parents and tell them that their kids had been assaulting a disabled person and were lucky to be avoiding charges. Each kid got their phone back and looked around in sullen silence.

"Well don't just stand there, get Mr Wilde up and then get off this tram."

.

The Kids grabbed the wheelchair and pulled it up. In it stood the spitting image of Nick Wilde. A little bit chubbier and flabbier around the muzzle while his skin, fur (the bright red slightly darkened and containing flecks of grey and white) and eyes looked older and more tired but, it was like Nick was looking back at her. The only difference was the eye colour, a dark Amber rather than Nicks jungle leaf green, that scanned carefully at the contents of his wallet checking that everything was there.

"I think that's everything," he said quietly while readjusting his smart yet flamboyant suit and tie, something she couldn't imagine Nick ever wearing, and grabbing a pair of glasses which he rested on his snout. "Now Kids, If you kick someone in the legs and they do nothing, that means that said legs don't work. Maybe your parents should get you to write that out 1,000 times. I think this is your stop, would you kindly get off here?"

The three hopped off the tram and, as they began moving again, the Old fox turned and wheeled himself up to Judy. "I've been waiting to meet you for a long time but Nick keeps on pushing it off, seems like fate got impatient. My stop isn't for twenty minutes, yours?"

"Ten."

"Let's talk then", he said as the tram exited the street and began picking up speed along an old rail line, "I'm John M Wilde."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

-Judy-

"I glanced you, briefly, at Nicks graduation at the police academy."

"I remember, I was way at the back, seeing you speak and then pin his badge on. I'm sorry we couldn't meet then."

"Well, these things happen… I didn't realise you…"

"The Wheels? hit and run 25 years ago."

"I'm sorry. Nick never told me."

"Doesn't tell anyone but his family much. I'm amazed he told you about those vermin at the Junior ranger scouts. I was waiting for an operation at the time but Francine, my wife, visited before I went under and I knew something was up. She told me, I went under, and when I woke up a few days later I saw my little son looking so… broken…"

"I'm sorry, we had a training exercise today with muzzles and he fainted."

"What? I knew he had nightmares when he was 20 and still spending a weekend a fortnight with us but… well that's Nick. He doesn't like saying stuff. Something, something, don't let em' know."

"Well, if he isn't going to spill the beans then why don't you?"

"Might do. After all, you're the best thing that ever happened to him."

"Well, turning a con-man…"

"CON-MAN?" John said with a raised voice and angry tone.

"Well, with the popsicles and…"

"Everything he did was perfectly legal. I saw to it myself when he wanted to check, nothing much else to do. I'm fine with you calling my son a spiv, which is really pushing it, but he isn't a con-man. Apart from the occasional trying of his luck, he hurt no one for his own gain. I don't deny he had to dress his friend up as a child, but that's just trying to make sure he gets fair service. Not their concern what he does with their goods. Now, had he been some other species he'd be praised. Business savvy, entrepreneurial, yadda yadda but he's a fox so he's conning people."

"I'm sorry, I…"

"Don't worry. It's how society is. When he was six, I planned to open a new shop in my part of town. I'm a professional Tailor you see and ran mail order deliveries. I made a model, had all our details and stuff and went in with my future apprentice….

.

.

 **16 years ago:**

A line of mammals was waiting in a large bank. At two chairs, a father fox and his son were sitting down. Looking over, the older fox turned to his son and brought out a package.

"I thought it was time I dressed you up nice and proper. Big meeting and all of that."

The little fox opened the package and gathered up the small suit inside. He pulled it onto his shoulders as his father began adjusting the collar and doing up the buttons.

"Now Nick, some people have very… unsavoury views about us Foxes. We have to put in extra effort to prove them wrong and the first step is to always be well groomed, well dressed and well spoken. You check them before they can make their first move, you see."

The little kit looked up and smiled, before hugging his father.

"Wilde, room 34. Room 34, Wilde. John and Nicholas." Called a voice from behind a counter.

John and Nick Wilde got up and entered a large office. The bank manager saw them and cleared his desk of items as the two wander up.

"Have you ever had trouble finding a suit that fits you? Are you fed up of your nearest stores only catering to a certain size group? I'm John Wild, this is Nick (the little Kit smiled and waved) and I have a business plan to set up a new tailoring and rental shop near Canyon street. The area is recovering from hard ship but there are no nearby formal clothing suppliers. I already supply many mail order suits (pointing towards his record book) and a proper store at a currently vacant location will boost sales further. It's not Zootopia, it's Suitopia!"

John opened his display case and showed a detail model of his suit store while Nick opened up an order book to the summary page.

"A suit for every mammal and every occasion!" they said in unison, as a large red stamp fell flat on their application.

"Well um, thanks… for the opportunity. Come on Nick."

Before John could gather up his supplies, Nick had seen two voles move in with another set of stamps. Curious, he picked them up and in terror they cried out for security.

"Nick, put them down quickly!"

The little Kit started placing them back down as a security Rhino barged in. In one swoop, he picked the Kit up and began man-handling him out.

"Daddy, Daddy, help me!", Nick screamed in terror.

"He's six, please, he meant no harm" John said as he tried desperately to reason with the Rhino as he carried Nick out of the bank and deposited him on the stairs outside.

"Nick… I'm sorry about that," John said as he comforted the little boy and stemmed his tears. "I just need to retrieve my stuff. 'll be back in five minutes."

.

.

 **Present day** :

"I suppose it wasn't that bad… We had to move to a smaller store and had we been in the large one when, well this" he said, gesturing down. "We just managed on my Wife's lunch lady wages for the five years between the accident and paying the loan off. After that, when he was twelve, he began making his own money. Things then got so much easier, he got his crazy friend to build a muzzle based sewing machine controller! Open jaws go forward, close jaws stops. I cried that birthday, I got my business back up to where it had left off and I make over $30,000 a year now. Well, Francine always wanted more children and we had survived on less than a quarter of this income so, when he was 14, Nick got his sisters. Twins, Kitsune and Kirin, Francine's name choice as she always said that Nicholas was too boring. Currently 16 and both my apprentices, I just feel sorry for Nick that he had to go through so much to clear the path. But he did it, without complaint and anger, and he still sends us 5 grand a year to put in our pension and won't have it any other way."

"He looks like you, but he doesn't have your eyes nor your mouth."

John look over, then laughed, "Oh, sorry, I do go on a bit sometimes, sorry. Where did I diverge."

"People calling Nick a con-man? I'm sorry that I…"

"Yes, I made sure he was always in the law. Completely and entirely."

"So you did his legal checks, what about his taxes…."

"Taxes?..." John said before bursting into laughter. "Taxes, taxes, oh Nick was so mad when I told him."

"Told him what?"

"He never had to pay any."

"He said he earn $200 a day, 365 days a year."

"He was boasting. He'd try every day, but many days his plans wouldn't work. He made $200 a day on about 250 days of work. After splitting it with his partner, that got him $25,000 a year. He pays property taxes via his rent and he needs to earn $30,000 to start paying income tax. Unfortunately, his tax ignorance was on the same level as yours."

"So?"

"You dragged him around without him having any reason to follow you! When he got back after that press conference, he was so mad after I told him! He grabbed our fishing gear and just stayed at his place for a week. Then you returned and put that witch Bellweather away and the rest is history."

"…."Judy burst into Laughter.

.

"I mean really, $73,000 a year? Why would he still be scamming?"

"It does make sense. I never paid much attention when my family was doing their finances. I might ask them for an overview after the conference"

"They coming here to the conference?"

"Yeh."

"Come over to our place, meet the family."

"I'd… love too."

"That's the spirit. Do your parents know?"

"Know what?"

"Oh come off it, from all I've heard you two love each other."

"Uhmm, well, yes… yes we do." Judy replied, at first unsure but then sincerely.

"Good. All four of us Wildes are rooting for you and Nick. As I said, you're a lucky girl and you'll always be welcome around our table. Although considering the nest egg Nick saved up, we'll likely be coming around yours!"

"How much does he have?"

"Well, having seen us almost ruined he lives a very frugal life no matter what he earns, although you seem to be doing your best to remedy that, that's a compliment by the way. Last I checked, thanks to investments I made for him with his savings, he has $350 grand in the bank."

.

Judy coughed and spat out her carrot juice in shock that Nick had so much money.

"You wouldn't think it, would you Judy? He just isn't a spender and doesn't know what to do with it! I, on the other hand, have plenty of time on my hands and a knack at knowing which stocks are going up and down. Match made in heaven."

"Well, I think you've said quite enough about his private life, he'd…"

"Yes, yes. Probably far too much. I'm sorry, I'm just like that. When he visits our place he seems so quiet you forget he's there. Anyway, isn't this your stop?"

"Yes it is. It's been lovely talking with you Mr Wild."

"Pleasure meeting you. Tomorrow as well?"

"Yes," Judy said. "My family and yours."

.

.

-Nick-

.

-Beep Beep-.

An incomprehensible murmur came from below the duvet.

-Beep Beep-

Two legs thrust themselves out and dropped to the floor.

-Beep Beep-

Nick yawn, slammed his fist on the Alarm and got up. Within 15 minutes he was out of his room and heading down to the station. As he sat down at the platform he picked out his phone and scanned through the pictures taken last night. He and Fangmeyer were both dressed in black wigs and thick rimmed glasses and were part of a line of such people waiting outside a cinema. More pictures showed him and other patrons laughing and joking both outside and inside. Nick chuckled as he remembered the audience hoot and holler as 'The Set' played for two hours straight. Afterwards he saw Fangmeyer and himself go bowling before the pics stopped.

 _"One good night. Next time a crap movie is making the rounds again; I'll invite Ash over."_ Nick thought as a train rolled into the station.

.

Ten minutes later, he was entering the ZPD office. While Sundays were fairly quiet, crime occurred 24 hours a day and there was still a quiet murmur going around. Clawhauser was in and Nick bandied up to him.

"Has our maned wolf friend from yesterday been treated," Nick said, having looked up what kind of rare animal the boy had been last night.

"Yes, Doctors agreed with you that he had small doses of Nighthowler in his system and they gave him a small dose of antidote to settle him down."

"Name, age, family?"

"No idea Nick, I only just got in."

"Where is he?"

"Cell 47."

.

Nick wandered down to the cells. 45 to 50 were individual cells for those considered dangerous to themselves and others. Back during the Nighthowler epidemic, some of the feral preds had been kept here while hospital facilities were prepared. Looking into the cell, he saw the figure slumped over and breathing with the muzzle still holding his Jaw tightly together.

 _"You Barbarians"_ Nick angrily thought as he opened up the cell, closed the door, and stepped inside. The prisoner turned and looked his way with bloodshot eyes while Nick, breathing heavily with ears twitching and tail between his legs, approached.

"It's OK. I'm here to take that thing off you. Stay calm and It'll be over."

The prisoner turned his head away again as Nick approached with Key in hand. He went for the tightening strap's lock first and as he pulled he saw the red marks left by the tight metal. Then reaching for the lock on the back of the creature's head, he released the straps allowing the muzzle to slide off onto the floor.

"Oh thank god that's over" Nick said in a relieved voice.

"Seems like it hurt you more than it hurt me." Muttered the Wolf.

"I've had a bad history with those things. I couldn't let a fellow canine suffer them."

"Thanks, your name?"

"Officer Nicholas Wilde."

"Manny Guazu. I… remember you from last night. Thank you."

"Do you remember how you got Night Howler in your system?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry but I don't. One minute I was with my friends partying after finishing my exams. Then there were blurs like a bad dream. I don't remember what was real or what wasn't. Heck, I thought I dreamed about a screaming fox but here you are."

"It sounds like someone spiked your drink. Do you have any idea who that could have been?"

"Spiked?... No man, not a clue at all."

"I have my phone with me, do you want to make a call?"

"No, not really. I don't want anyone to know I'm… here… if you know what I mean."

"Understood. I'll go and try to clear your details up and get you out quickly. I'll also request that I look at this case on Monday with my partner. Could you drop me a phone number and address in case I need to contact you again?"

"Yeh, sure, here's my frat house," said the wolf as he wrote it down his contact details on Nicks notepad.

"OK. Hang on in there. You'll be out soon enough" said Nick as he exited the cell and left.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"Left here." Nick said, from the back of a rickety old truck.

"Right." He said again.

"Straight on, we're almost there. OK stop now."

.

The truck parked in a part of Zootopia that was slightly run down but still holding a certain charm and character. Out of the front dropped Stu and Bonnie Hopps who stretched after their long journey.

"It's sure fine of your friend's parents to invite us over to dinner," said Judies mum as she looked around the street. "Which house is it?"

All the houses in this part of the town were two stories high with a shop on the ground floor and living space in the first floor and the roof space. While lights shone out of the upper floors and roof lights, the ground level looked desolate and empty apart from an occasional café that was open and serving a few patrons.

"J Wilde and Daughters, Suits and formal clothes hire." Nick replied.

"Well which one's that? my night vision isn't as good as yours" commented Stu.

.

As if to answer, the lights at the bottom of one of the stores came on, illuminating a medium sized shop full of suits, dresses and fabric. The door to the side, with the store name Nick had just said written above it in flowing lead script, opened and a young teenage vixen peaked out.

"Nick?"

"Kirin! Good to see you Sis" nick replied as he wandered up and gave the girl a tight hug. She was wearing a very light blue dress that went well with her lighter, more orange fir. Looking over, Judy realised that Kirin was the spitting image of Nick's mum, with the exception of her dark amber eyes which came from John. As the brother and sister rubbed their muzzles, Judy compared the two, and saw that Kirin's muzzle was thinner and lined with small pale markings with a much smaller nose parked on the end.

"If it isn't big brother Nick!" came another cry as Nicks other sister came out. Dressed in an identical, albeit light orange dress, Kitsune joined the affectionate muzzling with her siblings. Although the sisters looked similar, Judy could see that they weren't identical. Kitsune had a slightly fatter snout than Kirin while her fur was darker and had more light spots freckling her snout and face. Most of all, she had Nicks dark green eyes which were now scanning attentively around.

"Hi… I'm Judy. Nicks work partner on the force. These are my parents, Stu and Bonnie."

The two rabbits looked at the sisters and exchanged smiles and waves.

"Well, it's getting a bit chilly out here, how about we all go inside" Nick said, trying to break the Ice that was forming in the situation.

.

Nick and his sisters led with Judy in the rear. Near the back of the store was a door with two wheelchairs lying beside it. Behind the doorway, a staircase with a chair lift wound its way up to the living area. Entering into a lounge, Judy saw that the place was old but well-loved with pictures hanging on the walls and old, worn furniture in the room. On one side of the lounge was a bed, nestled below the large back window in the alcove made by the stairs while, on the right-hand wall, stood a small fireplace with a fairly old flat screen TV hanging above it. The door to the rest of the building opened and in came Mrs Wilde wheeling in Mr Wilde. Judy was right in that Kirin was the spitting image of her mother, with the exception of her eyes. The two green emeralds shone from within the tired but dignified looking vixen who was wearing a plain lilac dress. Her husband, on the other hand, had a fine suit on and looked like he was about to give a long winded speech at a toast to the mayor or something.

"Nick Son, I have an old suit that I've grown a bit too… um… large for. Anyway, the girls and I adjusted it a bit and its waiting for you in the kitchen."

"Thanks Dad, Judy… I'll just go and change. I'll be back in a sec" he said, ruffling his father's head on the way out.

Judy stood up ready to introduce everyone. "Mum, Dad, these are Mr John Wilde and Mrs Francine Wilde. They're Nicks parents. You've already seen their younger daughters Kitsune and Kirin. Wilde family, these are Stu and Bonnie Hopps, my parents."

.

The two families introduced themselves and swapping stories. Within minutes, however, said discussion was focussed between Stu and John. Stu had begun talking about working on the carrot farm and how his 275 children were at his beck and call. Curious about how the farm would be run when they grew up, Stu admitted that there was only really a demand for 100 workers at any one time and how many of his children would have to find work elsewhere. Within seconds, John was making a sales pitch to Judy's father.

"Well you'll want them trained up in schools yes?"

"Yes."

"And they'll have to have formal clothing for that, won't they?"

"I suppose, are you trying to sell me some of your suits."

"I'm making you an offer sir. Your children going to interviews and Prom in fine Wilde family suits. It's worth the investment."

"Well, we don't really have that much money."

"I'll make you a couple then that can be shared out. Just bring an average selection of your fully grown children down and I'll do it."

"Well, it's a very generous offer but…"

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you wear to prom?"

"Nothing, didn't go. No suit so no service."

"Exactly. Even if you hated school, going to Prom isn't worth missing. I got Nick to go and he thanked me for it. He was a boyfriend to what's her face for a few months but he had a spring in his step for each of them."

"Dad…" Nick wined. Judy glanced over and realised that he had returned unannounced, wearing a slightly dusty black suit and red tie.

"Well. It is a generous offer, I'll come back in after the conference to iron out the details," Stu replied, sounding more enthusiastic about the deal on the table.

Francine Wild stood up and smiled, "Nice to hear, I'm going to check on the food. It's some nice grilled turbot fillet with big helpings of ratatouille on the side for our guests. For desert, I've also prepared a blueberry crumble made with produce from your own farm and served with clotted cream. Keep talking, I'll call you in when it's ready." The older vixen left the room leaving the seven of them there.

.

"You know I mentioned Prom," John said with a little smile growing on his face.

"Dad, no, not this story," interjected a blushing Kitsune.

"Well, now my Wife's out of here I can tell you the story of how we met at prom."

"She'll hear you," Kirin stated while burying her head into her palms.

"You see, we had been dating but a few of her lady friends had pulled her away from me. Said that I was a snob who thought a 'fox's life' was too good for him. Anyway, I had been a tailoring apprentice for one year and had been making my own practice suits which I'd wear in to school. Now, many of the prey animals would get stroppy at this and call me a show off and whatever. However, it meant that teachers didn't ignore me like they do with other foxes who want to learn and are struggling… I'm getting side-tracked, sorry."

"No, carry on," said Nick, who was grinning at the impending embarrassment his sisters would feel.

"So I had asked her out before exams and got a so-so reply. I didn't see her once during those months except one time when two bullies were trying to steal her notes. I parked myself between them and her and took a beating… they ruined a decent suit to. Anyhow, she got away and then, on the dance floor while I was waiting. Do you know what I hear?"

"Please don't dad," one of the daughters said.

"JOHNY!" he cried, part howling and screaming his name. From the kitchen came a shuffling as Mrs Wilde rushed in.

"I knew I shouldn't of left you alone! I should of know you'd have told that silly story" said Mrs Wilde in a sassy voice as she stood over her husband.

"Well, you know what I did?" he said, suddenly using his arms to pick up his wife and balance her on him.

"I did what any gentle-fox would do, I screamed FRANCINE!"

John began tickling his wife, much to the horror of his youngest two children, and they gently muzzled with smiles on their faces. Partly due to the actions of the elder two foxes and partly due to the reactions of the youngest two, the three bunnies began giggling and clapping at the display they had been given.

"Now I promised my girl that I would never let her down…. except when it means some expensive fish may get burned."

"I'll pop back to it honey. Ready in five, ten minutes," said Mrs Wilde as she slipped back to the kitchen.

"So it's true then?" butted in Mr Hopps, "with the foxes screaming thing?"

"Oh yes," replied John. "It isn't instant, but it'll be after you and your love have been separated a bit and realise you don't want to be apart ever again. I mean, I can imagine Nick here screaming 'Judy' if she's just woken up from an accident in hospital…. Did I say something?"

.

The faces of Stu and Bonnie were open aghast while Nick and Judy looked on with nervous trepidation.

"Are you saying that your son has romantic feelings for my daughter?" commented an aggravated Bonnie.

"Well, I met her on a tram and she said she had…"

"You're saying that MY DAUGHTER LOVES A FOX," Bonnie screamed.

"I do," said Judy sternly with authority. Looking over, Nick breathed out as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"I do too," he said.

The room was quiet. "I need to go and breath," Bonnie said as she got up and turned to leave.

"Mum please, the Wilde's have been very…"

"Hospitable? I think they've been rude and pretentious. My Daughter in love with a fox? I need time to think this over" She said as stormed out.

"I'd better go and sort her out. I don't deny I'm a bit… uncomfortable, but I hope you enjoy your arrangement. I need to comfort my wife and, I'm so, so sorry. I'll just take a business card in case any of us ever need a suit. Bye" said Stu as he gathered up his things and left.

.

The room was left quiet as the two bunnies left. Judy got up and walked through the door into the main apartment before turning right. Entering the kitchen/diner at the front of the property, she passed Mrs Wilde who was gently setting out a table. Opening a window, she called down to her parents. "Mum, Dad, please. Don't go. This is how it is, we just need to talk it…."

The truck engine spurted to life and rolled away down the street. Looking out, Judy buried her head in her hands and began sobbing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

-Nick—

.

-beep- -beep- -beep-…

The light was shafting in through the shutters as Nick rolled himself off the couch and onto the floor. He had chosen to stay the night with his family while Judy went off to try and patch things up with hers. A yawn and a stretch came from the bed beneath the window as John grabbed the shutters and opened them, allowing the early morning light to pour into the living room. Struggling to see, Nick found his glasses and put them on, dulling the light hitting his eyes to a more comfortable level.

"You get breakfast son, I'll come out when I'm changed."

Nick entered the kitchen at the front of the building and opened the fridge to get out milk, flour, butter and eggs. A great pot of ratatouille and half a blueberry crumble lay covered in cling film near the back, a testament to the awkward dinner that occurred. Grabbing a bowl and a recipe book, he mixed up a pancake batter and began pouring it into a hot frying pan. Using a wet spatula, he spread out the mixture into a thin film which quickly began to solidify. Bubbles were forming and the sides began wobbling as hot air escaped while the pitter-patter of paw prints could be heard upstairs.

"I thought you lived off fast food, big bro," Kirin said with a hit of anger and contempt in her voice.

"Mum and Judy have taught me some basics, besides I've known how to make pancakes for ages," Nick hit back as he rocked the pancake, getting ready to flip it.

"Good to see you still put her first, unlike that dumb bunny and her stupid family."

"Hey! I love Judy and I'm sorry that one of her in-laws doesn't like that. Now apologise to me or none of these pancakes are going in your mouth!" Nick shot out in a sudden fit of anger, before he took a deep breath and prepared to toss the pancake.

"I'm sorry Nick…"

On hearing his sister apologise, his head twitch around and body tensed up in shock. The silence was only broken by the soft 'slop' sound made as the pancake, launched at an unintended angle, fell onto Nicks face and Kirin burst into laughter.

"Good, I see the temporarily absent Wilde gene has been re-engaged," he said as he peeled off the pancake into the pan. He smirked as he saw his sisters eye and mouth twitch and wobble with annoyance at disgust at what he'd just done.

"Hey, I've lived on my own since I was 16. When I was 12 I was pulling in money to help pay off the loans and overdrafts we had. Without me we wouldn't have this house, Dad would still be unable to work and you and your sister would be a pipe dream."

"Sorry Nick."

"And again, stop depressing that clutch and keep in gear. Besides, I said pipe dream on purpose."

"What?"

"Just like you it's made of shiny metal and is hollow in the middle."

"You…"

The two were interrupted by the sound of Nicks phone ringing.

"hang on sis… Hello?... I see…. Good luck."

Putting down the phone, Nick grabbed the frying pan and slid his pancake onto a plate. Grabbing some sugar, he shook it over and rolled the snack up.

"I've got to go. You take over breakfast."

"What me?"

"No. The skunk whose hair that your sis used to make that 'quality' rug which almost got me killed."

Nick grabbed his tie and an umbrella from a rack and slipped the former around the collar of his trusty green shirt. Entering the living room, he looked to his dad, who had just lowered himself into the wheelchair and was dressed in his standard finery.

"Sorry I made such a noise going to the… going so soon?"

"Judy's parents are leaving for bunny burrow this morning. She says she got them to agree for coffee in the morning and that I can come unannounced to try and patch things up. However, I've got to run."

"You can't do that dressed like that."

"Not now Dad…" Nick replied like an embarrassed teenager.

"At least let me do your tie."

Nick glanced over his shoulder and, after seeing the ghost was clear, knelt down below his father. The two hands undid the scraggy knot and began working in silence as they weaved and braided the strip of fabric into a fine Eldredge knot. Looking up, Nick made eye contact who this father who smirked, "Show off."

Nick launched himself around his father, hugging him tightly and rubbing his head over John's shoulder, before sitting up and bolting out of the door.

"Tell Mum and Kitsune I love them!" he shouted as his words were muffled by the sound of feet pounding down stairs.

.

.

-Judy-

.

The early morning rain of the rainforest district was falling in sheets as an old truck pulled up outside of the café and two rabbits legged it to the shelter of the parasol canopy.

"I get why animals like the temperature. I understand that many like it humid. But why do they have to put on the rain in the middle of the morning rush hour!" complained Stu, as he grabbed a chair and settled down.

"It won Mayor Tapo the office 8 years ago," interjected Judy. "Most residents use it as a nice morning shower and have a change of clothes at work."

"But we've got a long journey. Why did you drag us to this soggy, wet outpost far away from the main city?"

"Have you tried the coffee?" Judy said, as she grabbed one of the three mugs on the table and took a gulp. "It's incredible…" she said, foot thumping the table leg in excitement.

"You see they grow their own coffee beans at a plantation at the top of the Canopy, they use three varieties which have been crossbred with many other varieties to produce the best beans in the city…"

"Judy…" Stu said as he tried to get her attention.

"And all the other coffee stops in the city want these beans but these guys refuse to give in and deliver them. The beans are gathered and left to almost ferment for a year in dry storage before…"

"Judy…" Bonnie tried to say.

"They roast the beans in a special smoke house they own in Sahara square using a mix of mahogany wood from here and apple wood from the orchards in forest squares along…"

"Judy…" they both said in unision.

"Along with spices such as pepper, cloves, nutmeg and plants such as Thyme and Medicampum…"

"JUDY!" they both shouted.

"What, what's the matter. What have I done to annoy you? Is it about me or Nick as you're just going to have to…"

"JUDY, STOP THUMPING THE TABLE!" Stu shouted.

Judy looked down and saw that her leg was thumping away on the table leg. She moved it over so it thumped the air instead and smiled at her parents, although this evaporated when she saw that the table and cups were covered in spilt coffee, sugar and milk.

"I'm sorry, It's just that this coffee is soooo goooood." Judy said as she took another sip.

Her parents tried it to and agreed that it was the best coffee they had ever tasted. A weasel waiter walked over and placed down a tray containing three large filo pastries, knotted into a braid shape, and containing white cheese. Judy picked up one and took a bite.

"It's nice. Never tried one before. I think they're called Banitsa… I think. I'm not sure. Anyway, the people here say it's not a rainforest district recipe but one that the founder picked up when talking to his great uncle, who lives in a burrow on the common near the famous tennis courts out in the forest squares…"

"Is this sheep cheese in here…" Stu began to fast talk, "Well I mean I've never been a big fan of dairy but it's nice. It's not that much so I probably won't need the special enzyme pills in order to help my lactose intolerant body digest them. Talking of sheep, I heard that the sheep in bunny burrow plan to strike so that they can get better prices for their milk. Now I understand that they want a fair price but people need this stuff and I think being able to support yourself beyond a basic level by sitting down and letting your body do stuff is asking a bit much, but seeing as Bonnie here wants us to go straight home I won't have the chance to get my facts straight at the conference…."

.

"Stu, I love you but I need time to think" Bonnie snapped. "It's all so much with what's going on with her and that fox. I mean you say it's nothing but imagine if she was with Gideon. That would be a shock wouldn't it. I mean it's all fair that he's our business partner but we want the best for our daughter. I mean, what happens when she wants Kids and they can't have any!"

"Mum! You're getting ahead of yourself... I love Nick, we finish each other's sentences. We joke at each other. We click and connect in a way that, if it's not true love, I don't know what else is."

"Oh, so it's now true love is it?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes!"

"And what, if he proposes to you right here right now you'll say yes?"

"NO!"

"So it isn't true love then."

"We haven't even moved in together. We're only planning on going to the first stage."

"But you've already called him your true love!"

"Bonnie," Stu said, after having enough with his wife, "I had a girlfriend for 2 years before she broke up with me and I met you. I called her true love many times and genuinely meant it. But as we lived together we realised that it wouldn't work and that it was best to break up and just stay as friends."

"So my daughter will waste up to 2 years of her life with this fox before dumping him. Two precious years!"

"Or it turns out he's the one."

"How's that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Because your daughter's HAPPY! We were both scared when she joined the ZPD but look at her now. Anyway, lets finish this breakfast and get going. You want to get home, then I want to get home early. Waiter!" he cried, "Bill please, quickly."

"Thanks Dad," Judy said as they finished off the remaining food.

"Mum, I know that I'm always your little angel. One of your eleven joint oldest children. But I'm a grown woman and I can handle myself. Whatever happens, I plan to move in with Nick and you can either accept and embrace it like his family did or you can ignore it."

"Or I can be moody and stroppy and… and worried sick that my Judy is planning to marry someone almost 50% older than her who has a history of crime and who could… shred… shred her apart if he feels like it!" Bonnie began crying into her hands as Stu moved over to comfort her.

"Mum, Nick has saved my life a number of times and I've saved his. We trust each other completely, as for a life of crime? He sold legal stuff to people everyone knows is dodgy, he melted down elephant size popsicles into lemming size popsicles and he signed taxes owed rather than earnings declared forms. Those are his three biggest crimes."

"Oh sure…" Bonnie blubbed, "but what about his family? They turned out so nice yet they made that."

"MUM!" cried Judy as Stu began looking around and tried to calm the two most important women in his life.

"I might have been able to accept… if he worked like that father… but…."

"Nick was seven when his father was paralysed! They barely survived! He gave up a good chunk of his childhood to keep his family's head above the water! Isn't that the dedication you want for me? It's just that Nick lost out on learning his father's trade and he didn't really know how to stop doing what he did to earn a living till I came around!"

"Thanks Judy, I'll try and talk some sense into Mum on the way home. Here are some blueberries for the Wilde's, to say sorry." Stu said, pushing over a bag of the fruit as the waiter slowly placed the bill down on the table.

"Come on mate, you're slower than Flash!" Judy said, just as the bill was placed down. She grabbed it and placed $20 on the table. "Keep the change."

"…..T…..H…A…N…..K…. ….Y….O….U….." the waiter began to say, in an unusually deep voice for a Weasel, so deep that it rivalled Finnick or Bogo. Looking down at her watch, she checked the time. She told Nick that she would be here at 8:00 and the minute hand was at 8:04. It was then she noticed that the watch was broke, the second hand wasn't moving. Then it did, and again after about 5 seconds… Looking around at the rain slowly pouring down around her she looked back at the coffee. "Damn good stuff…"

.

.

-Nick-

.

"Just right here. See the parasols up there. That's the place." Nick instructed his driver as they wound up the rainforest district.

-Beep—Beep—Beep—

"Hello? Wait what? Slow down. More. More. Trust me, you most definitely aren't at flash speed and neither am I…. I see. Well, If you're lucky, I can get Bogo to assign you to a cold case in bunny burrow he's been putting off for some time…. Well, I'll say you're having a family event, brother in hospital… I know not in that order Dumb Bunny…. Bye Carrots."

"In laws?" the driver asked.

"You don't know the half of it. There's a gondola station behind the café so just drop me off here."

Nick jumped out of the car just as the rain stopped. Wandering over to a very messy table, he grabbed a bag of blueberries and a coffee cup, from which he trickled a little stream into his mouth. Savouring the taste, he wandering through an alley to the station and hopped on a pod. As they rose through the clouds, he looked ahead and saw a hand waving out at him a few pods along. Waving back at Judy, who would be searching for fast train tickets back to bunny burrow, he called Clawhauser to see what he could arrange.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

.

- **Nick** -

.

.

Clawhauser was relaxing, reading his phone when Nick came in. As he approached a gust of wind caught several spare papers that were lying about and lifted them into the air. Panicking, the fat cheetah sat up in his seat in a futile attempt to gather the case files and procedure forms and place them under something heavy.

"How's it going Mr C?," nicked called, jovially.

"Good, good, I got Judy that case in Bunnyburrow…. Well cases, some reports of fertilizer being stolen from farms and city hall wants to know if it's connected or something."

"Oooh, serious. Sounds right up Judy's alley."

"I know, back home, stopping a vile thief from stealing expensive materials from poor hard working farmers."

"Clawhauser…. Never change."

"What Nick? Oh never mind. Did you hear about the new Gazelle concert?"

"What do you think?"

.

"See you there. Actually, could you help with these papers."

"OK, I'll gather the ones that have fluttered over there."

"Actually, Nick. I was going to ask if you could stop fluttering them?"

"What?"

"Your brush is acting up like it's the end of the Animalia concert and the stadiums holding a convention for those allergic to confetti the next day."

Nick glanced down, and seeing that his tail was rapidly swirling around with a mind of its own, he grabbed it and threaded it through the belt loop of his trousers, securing it in place.

"Sorry, I had a few drops of the coffee at Go-Go's."

"I know, I had that hamster's coffee once. I was so awake; I was forced to do something that still haunts me to this day."

"I know. When I heard that you were spotted jogging in the park, I truly thought the end days were here."

"Oh you mean, you…"

"Keep it classy Mr C!"

Nick smiled and walked away from the Jovial Cheetah as he entered the Bull pen. Most of the officers were already there and, while waiting for Bogo, Nick got out his phone and looked up the Gazelle concert. His ears pricked a bit when he read that it was in support of muzzling survivors, but he had to concede that it was a good cause.

.

"Alright, Alright! Calm down." Shouted Bogo, as he marched into the Bull pen in a particularly agitated mood. "First order of business, Officer Hopps is on a solo mission to Bunny Burrow in order to investigate some reports of fertilizer theft that have been going on. We expect her to be gone for one week, two tops. This leaves Officer Wilde alone. I believe you showed an interest in a reported drugging case Mr Wilde, is that so?"

"Yes Sir."

"Here's the case file. You and Fangmeyer go investigate."

With that, Nick and the white wolf grabbed the case file and went towards the car park, passing Clawhauser on the way out.

"Going out so soon Nick?"

"Yup. About that concert… see you there. Good cause and all that."

.

.

"So I think our first step is to pick up our victim, Manny Guazu," Nick said looking at his case file, while Fangmeyer drove them around.

"Yep. Where is he."

"Zootopia institute of technology. Alpha, Charlie, Nike, Epsilon fraternity."

"Didn't strike me as the kind of person who'd be interested in that sort of thing."

"He isn't. Athletics scholarship from the sound so if. One of the best fencers in the city."

"Well I never, if we meet a killer pirate he sounds like the person to be on our side."

"And I'll be cowering behind a security camera somewhere, flashing my light around to try and scare him off."

"Sometimes you are a real coward Nick."

"I just know who to pick my fights with."

"Getting back to the case?"

"Yes. He's studying food science or some degree. In his third year out of four. Age 21. He reported going to a unnamed bar last night. Blacking out and having either dreams or really messed up memories. He thought I was a dream back when he was taken into the station. Anyway, picked up by the police at 3:55PM on Saturday, after being mental in the park."

"Any comment on these dreams he had."

"No, not in here. We'll ask him about them. I phoned ahead and he said he'd be free today to ride around."

"Anything else?"

"No… apart from the medical report. Had dilute night howler in his blood along with trace sedatives and alcohol. Reports of lots of cuts and bruises below the fur and … two lines of bruises on his snout…"

"Well, ones from the muzzle, the other?"

"I fear… a muzzle… but not the same one."

"So you think he had a small muzzle on and got it off before he was arrested?"

"I think so, poor sod."

.

.

"Hey… oh. Don't… come in Officers, this place is really a tip."

"Don't worry Manny, we'd like you to just come with us and show us around where you remember being."

"OK," said the Maned Wolf, as he exited the house and walked with the officers to the car.

"You said you had 'dreams'?" Fangmeyer asked, "what do you remember?".

"I'm… I don't know if they are real or if they aren't."

"Don't worry," said Nick, "We'll filter the wheat and the chaff."

The three of them got in their car and started off.

"We're going to the park you were picked up in. Before being arrested, what do you remember?"

"Well, Officer Wilde, I remember that the sun was burning my eyes. There were people running around and some blue people were shouting at me. Then there was pain and my jaws were shut together."

"That's your arrest, can you go back further? Any on how you could get into the park?"

"A lot of the dreams were dark, I remember one where I was blinded by light and my mouth was covered in chains that I clawed off…"

"Like a muzzle? You have some evidence of a non-police muzzle being fitted earlier on."

"Might have been. It makes sense… god. Many of the dreams had my mouth chained up like… I had one of those on me…"

"It seems like it."

"I mean; I get why you cops do it for safety but… by other…"

"Don't worry, big kid. You're preaching to the choir here."

Manny looked up and saw Nick, breathing quite heavily and with his fur on end, sticking out his paw to the back seat. Manny grabbed it and held firm.

"Better?" Nick asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry I'm…"

"Don't worry, it's my Job. I'd take talking about muzzles over being shot at 9 times out of 10."

.

Manny took a gulp and continued, "The earlier dreams seem strange. I remember a ring with people looking down at us from above while I fended off this… red demon. There was a hall of black cages with screams coming out of them. I remember shapes beating me. The only ones I think that were real were a shaking room, which must have been a van, and me being sold at an auction or something."

"Auction, why do you think it was real."

"There was a friend, from the university. A brown bear who I knew and who is still missing. He was sold too."

"Why didn't you tell anyone that this bear was missing?"

"Because… at university you can pop out unannounced for a week, maybe even two, and then come back and say you are visiting your parents. I'm not sure whether this is the case with my friend or not, but I am worried."

"Well, we're here," said Nick, as the car moved along the edge of a park.

"I recognise that building… the red and white chimney over there. I was close to its base when I came out of the van" Manny said, as he proceeded to direct them to where Manny pointed. Getting out, the maned wolf looked around.

.

"This is it. I remember this street from my dream."

"Sorry to give you the red pill, but that was no dream," Fangmeyer interjected, "Mind if I take a sniff?"

"um… no," Manny said, as Fangmeyer took a long sniff at him and began probing around with his nose, leaving Nick and Manny alone.

"So, about this bar you went to."

"I was hoping you wouldn't get to that…"

"Why not?" said Nick, with a wide grin growing on his face.

"It's not illegal… just legal unfriendly so to speak."

"Frequent visitor?"

"No. It was set up by the University anarchist society…"

"Can't think of a more delightful bunch of people."

"But it has been run by the 'slag' for about two years."

"Slag. Who's she?"

"No-one, it's a group of people. They took the name from the leftovers of iron smelting. The useless bits of society dumped on the ground or so they say. Anyway, I had been there two or three times but was having a rough night and decided to go with a group of friends to unwind. I started partying, had a few drinks at the bar… then the dreams started."

"When does it open?"

"7PM, but I'm not going back in there."

"Show me the way, I'll slip in under…."

Nick was interrupted by a loud howl coming from a set of dumpsters behind them. Fangmeyer emerged with a large plastic evidence bag containing a muzzle.

"We were right Nick. Some sick gelding did muzzle our poor friend," the white wolf replied as he approached them. Nick was already tense at the sight of seeing the device, although some mindfulness techniques he had learned kept the images of his past out of his head. Manny, on the other hand, was beginning to shy away. He was rubbing his snout and getting worried.

"Fangmeyer, put that in the car and hide it. Take Manny back to his house, I'll stay around here looking for information. When you get back to the station, I want you to upgrade this investigation to the highest level you can, maybe track down who made and sold the muzzle as well as doing some fur tests on the straps and such."

"Yes, Nick" Fangmeyer retorted, as he turned towards the car while Nick looked up at Manny.

"Now listen friend, I'm going to write you a police notice here," he said while grabbing his pen and a form, "and I want you to hand this to the University welfare department. I've kept some track of what's been going on recently for victims of muzzling and there should be all sorts of gazelle funded helpers out there. One might turn out to be useful, you never know."

"But, those services are…"

"I know it seems like it's a girl only thing. But you've suffered the same thing that they do. I want no ifs and buts. By the time I meet up with you at your place, at 6:30 tonight so you can take me to this club, I want you to of used this help everyone's been bleating on about. OK?"

"… yes, thank you."

"OK. Good. I'll be wandering around and making a few interviews."

.

Nick watched the two wolves head off in the car and then grabbed his notebook. Five names were written on it, with the topmost circled in red with the words 'meet at 4:15' written beside them. Nick underlined two names beneath this and brought out his phone, bringing out a map. Setting off, he began walking towards the trendier part of town, with his tail between his legs and ears flat on his head.

.

.

- **Judy** -

.

A loud bang signalled the arrival of Judy's sister Alice at the station. Lumping her things into the car, the two began the short drive to the Hopps' family farm.

"It's nice to see you back here, I heard you're on the case about the fertiliser being stolen from the neighbourhood farms?"

"Yep. And other things."

"Is this why Mum and Dad are coming home today rather than tomorrow?"

"Yes, Mum can't get her head around the fact that my boyfriend is a fox."

"A fox?"

"Yes, small canid, red fur, big bushy tail."

"I know what a fox is… but…"

"I know. He's a fox. We're different species. Their all 'untrustworthy' and sneaky. Well I know this one. He's saved my life. I've saved his. I don't deny that he can be a bit devious sometimes but it's all in good humour."

"Sorry. I just needed time to process the thought."

"I know, but Mum… Mum insulted his family when she was a honoured guest under his families roof. Then, when I met for coffee in the morning she said that he wasn't good enough for me."

"Well is he?"

"He saved my life Alice!"

"Well, he's the police fox isn't he. Isn't that his job?"

"Yes, but I mean it still shows that he can be trusted and he won't abandon me heartbroken like mum thinks he will."

"Are you sure. What if he cheats on you with some vixen? Or what if he uses your name on some kind of Con?"

"Alice. Read my lips. I know him inside out. I know some of his most traumatic secrets. I know when he's up to something. You don't."

"Fine, fine. Well I suppose Gideon is nice, and he's engaged to a fox who lives at a rice farm up near Buckbreak mountain."

"The three-tails family?"

"That's the one."

"Aww, that's nice. Gideon Grey, getting married to a Hokkaido fox. I'd of never thunk it."

.

Judy was waiting on her porch when the car turned up. Her parents got out and gathered their things as they approached the door. Kicking with her leg, she swung around so she faced them while stroking her left ear.

"Judy?" Bonnie asked.

"So we meet again, Mum and Dad."

"I'd… what are you doing here?" Stu said, lot for words.

"Looking into the farm material theft cases."

"We all know the truth," Bonnie sighed.

"We do," Judy retorted.

"Judy. I'm sorry the way I acted. Maybe if I had more time I wouldn't of acted so badly. I just need time to think. To check over who this person is and make sure he isn't a dodgy character."

"Mum, I blew open the night howler case. I can do detective work just fine."

"Actually Judy," Stu retorted, "you got completely the wrong conclusions and almost started the collapse of Zootopia before your mum and I inadvertently corrected you."

Judy stood with her mouth open, comprehending what had just been said. Realizing, to her great annoyance, that they were right she shut her mouth.

"Look at that," Bonnie said, "Mouth shut, ears down, bridge of nose wrinkled up and 120 nose twitches per minute… teenage Judy has returned." With that Bonnie and Stu went into the house, while Judy span her chair to face the wall so she could be grumpy in private.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

.

- **Nick** -

.

Nick had always lived in the dirtier parts of Zootopia. In his view a city wasn't really a city if it didn't have the occasional run down building or empty plot. The buildings Canyon street and Cyprus street, where his family and he lived, were made of old warm orange bricks which, while crumbling here and there, had character. The part of Zootopia he was in now, however, was posh. Each old building was pulled back into use as a trendy set of apartments or offices while the empty lots were filled with shiny new buildings. To Nick, it gave of a decidedly untruthful façade. A city is always a dirty place that worked, lived and died and his part of the town seemed to accept it. Here, however, the city hid its true nature behind the new walls and exterior. It was a metaphor, in a way, for the kind of person he was expecting to meet. Turning a corner, he spotted a trendy new restaurant called 'Gramineae Destiny' with a cohort of grazing animals outside.

.

"Hello…. Oh. What are you doing here?" said the Impala waitress at the bar in a very confused looking voice.

"Nick Wilde, ZPD. I'd like to speak to the owner of this establishment."

"Mr Stripes?"

"Yes, Mr Stripes."

"Is anything the matter, I believe we have all permits in order and…"

"As a former caterer, I'm happy to say that this business has no issues. I'm investigating a case and I believe that the business owner might have some relevant information,"

"OK," she said as she picked up her phone and rang the managers number. "Mr Stripes. We have a police officer here who wants to ask you some questions about….. OK, I'll send him up." "First floor on the right," she said, as Nick wandered on up.

.

"Hello… Oh, that's rather unconventional if I must say so. I was expecting a big Hippo or something," said the Zebra in what sounded like a sincere voice.

"Yes. Officer Wilde, ZPD. First Fox on the force."

"Well, times be a changing and such. How can I help you, sir?"

"I'm investigating a case in which a student from the Zootopia Institute of Technology was drugged and abused, before being released with Night howler syndrome."

"Oh god… so this happened at my restaurant?"

"No, he's a maned wolf so he wouldn't frequent this place."

"Can't see why he would… we have 99 varieties of grass but nothing he would really like. Did one of my waiters know him or do you think he might have been spotted going past?"

"No."

"Well sir, how can I help you out?"

"You see; we have very strong evidence that he was muzzled during his time under drugs."

"Muzzled? What kind of sick freak would do that to an innocent person?"

Nick didn't speak. He looked up at the Zebra and began breathing deeply. A facial twitch seemed to show that Mr Stripes had picked something up.

"You seem uh… very tense… Do you want water or drinks or anything?"

"No."

"Well, I don't know what you want me to give you. I don't know why you're angry at my like I've done something or not because I didn't. I'm a decent, honest, law abi…"

The Zebra paused for a bit, a flick of panic in his eyes.

"… Law abiding citizen, Officer Wilde," he finished.

"Oh, just call me Nick," he said, with an audible snarl at the end.

"Nick?"

"Nick, short for Nicholas. Officer Nicholas P Wilde, ZPD."

"Um… uh."

"You haven't heard that name in a long time, have you Mr Stripes?".

"It rings a bell. But I don't know where" the Zebra replied, while sitting down on his chair. He was wearing a crumpled cartoon T-shirt and Jeans while a tufty beard hung beneath his mouth. A pair of stylish specs were slotted between his ears but away from his eyes, showing he was either short sighted or wore them for style. Nick climbed up onto the desk, so that his eyes were only a foot below the Zebra's and he smiled.

.

"I, Nicholas P Wilde, promise to be Brave, Loyal, Honest and trustworthy".

The Zebra's eyes opened in shock and he backed off a bit.

"A rather hollow promise seeing as you broke all four within the next 10 seconds!" Nick said, with the last few words shouted out angrily.

"Listen…" the Zebra stammered, "Just because I played a bit rough…"

"Bit rough… BIT ROUGH!," Nick screamed. "You think that it's sick to muzzle someone who's 21 and that those who do are freaks. What does that make you?"

"It was different…."

"I was eight!"

"We we're…"

"You tricked me. You and your friends offered me false friendship and acceptance before assaulting me, muzzling me and throwing me out onto a cold street!"

"I was nine. My friends were all eight or nine. We… we thought that this was what we did to keep us safe from pred's and that… that it was natural. We didn't know right from wrong. I'm sorry…"

"So, after doing something that could stick you behind bars for twenty years had you been an adult. Doing something which you must of heard was painful and scary to the young little… to ME! Doing something that ruined my faith in the world and turned me into a cynic for the next twenty four years! You're… sorry? That's it?"

"I… I am. If I could go back and undo it I would. To me, it was just something I did that was a laugh for one night. Stick a muzzle on a silly little kit and laugh at him. I knew it was a secret… but… I never knew why until I was so much older and… I just ignored it. If I could go press a button now to warn you… or me… or whatever I would."

"Is that it?" Nick said, in a more resigned voice.

"Yes. I was a fool and I didn't think. All I can ask is that you forgive me for being an absolute gelding all those years ago."

"I just want you to know, that that muzzle only got truly taken off a few years ago. That muzzle, to me, was the symbol of how society wouldn't let me be seen as anything but a backstabbing crook and thus why I shouldn't try. I was guilty of being born a fox, being a fox was my punishment and escape was futile and ended with torment."

"And I'm sorry…" the Zebra said, sounding defeated.

"I… forgive you," Nick replied, quietly.

The room was silent for a bit, then Mr Stipes began to talk.

"Knowing who you are, I understand why you came here. Why you wanted to see me. But I'd like to say that I haven't seen or touched a muzzle since then. It was Bucky A'dams who purchased the muzzle, and while I'm still in loose contact with him and another friend, I don't know the other two anymore."

"Thanks for your time," Nick said, as he jumped down and exited the office. Walking down the steps, he entered the sunlight and put on his sunglasses before walking down the road while checking his phone. Seeing as he had a message, he turned on the voicemail.

"Nick, It's Fangmeyer, Manny is back home and I've had a quick look at the Muzzle. We can't get a store name but we know who made it: 'Prickly's products'. I'll email you the address."

Looking through, Nick stopped and made a heel turn. Passing back past the restaurant and towards another part of town.

.

- **Manny** —

.

The little fox officer had told him that the support services were for men as well as girls. While he still wished to keep his promise, the words seemed to be ringing hollow in his ears. The support office was in a building used by the feminist society, who also contributed most to the volunteers that kept it running. Gazelle played out in the background while cartoon pictures of Doe's in work overalls holding rivet guns below 'Yes we can' slogans dominated many walls. The support offices were a nice set of rooms in that back that cornered a comfy lounge. Sitting down, Manny noticed that many of the workers nearby were giving him second glances. A few were of sympathy but most were confused while some… almost angry.

"Um… are you looking for somewhere else?" A soft voice came from an open door, with a pretty springbok poking her head out.

"No… uh. I'm here for help."

"Help?"

"Yes, a policeman gave me a note… in case anyone didn't believe me."

"Well, don't worry. Come in and sit down" she said with a voice lased with trepidation.

Entering the room, Manny saw that it was a simple one with two comfy chairs, a table and a nice large window. While Manny sat down, the Springbok wandered towards the door and seemed to gather up her height. She wore plain trousers and a shirt embodied with the words, 'I believe you' on it.

"Muzzling… is a very serious thing. The Psychological scars can be immense and we seem to live in a culture that… ignores the victims and blames them."

Manny nodded, and smiled. After learning that he had been muzzled against his will, his mind had almost been on overdrive. He didn't mind the police doing it to him if he had snarled or bitten him, he had night howler in him in any case, but someone taking him and trapping his jaws shut when he posed no threat. It made him anxious and insecure. To have someone other than Nick who seemed to understand was a great relief.

"Which is why you, seeing how your culture and behaviour is driving you towards doing this, coming for help is a very humble thing to do."

"What?..."

"I know that men think that controlling the mouths and thus expression and free will of girls is natural…"

"Wait, you've got this totally messed up. You think I muzzled someone?"

"No. I think you spotted that you were going down that way and chose to seek help. We really need more men like you in this world who see…"

"I WAS MUZZLED. I WANT HELP FROM YOU."

.

"What?" the Springbok asked. "Pull the other one, A hunky alpha like you, here because of how well he swings his sword around, being muzzled. And I thought you had some decency, wasting my time like this."

Manny paused, in shock. "I… I have a police report. Here, look," he said, pushing over Nicks report which was written on official ZPD paper.

"Let me look," the Springbok said, as she looked over his paper.

"I'm Millie Kruger, I'll be helping you with your case," she said in an apathetic voice, as she crumpled up the sheet and threw it back at Manny. "So, can you just confirm these things."

"OK."

"You went out drinking, were under the influence of alcohol and drugs and were involved in a muzzling incident."

"Yes."

"Do you know who was involved in this?"

"No… there was a female voice I remember… I think it was when I was muzzled, but everything is a blur."

"So you're saying a girl might have muzzled you."

"Yes. But I don't really know."

"Could this girl be… under influence as well."

"No… I don't know. Why are you asking me these questions. I feel scared and… your T-shirt says I believe you so can you try with me please?"

"Just formwork. I'm afraid, I don't think I can give you any real help here at the moment. I'll send your details of to the University mentoring centre and they'll see if they can help."

"um… thanks."

.

Manny exited the building. Looking around, he kicked a nearby trashcan in frustration, before wandering off. Grabbing his phone and the paper, he added Nick to his contact list and hovered over the call button, before breathing and carrying on. A few seconds later, the phone rang,

"Hello, this is Manny speaking… The Administration building… OK."

Manny turned and began walking towards the large admin building at the back of the campus while a clock chimed three. He relaxed a bit, smiled, and said, "Thanks Nick," in a relieved whisper.

.

.

- **Nick** -

.

The building at the front of the street seemed sincere enough. Yet behind it was a set of industrial sheds where the hum of machinery permeated continuously, with the exception of an occasional rattle from a passing train. The waiting room seemed sincere enough, with the exception being a display case showing a set of muzzles, ranging from the basic kind he remembered to the new police ones, as well as hand and leg cuffs. Nick made sure to keep his gaze fixed away from the display case but, when a hedgehog came in, the sound drew his face towards it.

.

"I believe you're here to ask about our customers."

"Yes."

"I'm afraid, apart from our deliveries to the ZPD and other specialist shops, we have a complete customer privacy policy for orders. While we only endorse legal use for these items, many clients are… suffice to say embarrassed when buying them."

"Well, a long-time friend cannibalised bits of one of these for an end of school shop project, so I can't complain."

"Oooh, pray tell what was it?"

"Just… a mouth controlled pedal for those without the use of their feet."

"So for drivers and such?"

"Yes… sort of. Anyway, do you know anyone who could of purchased this muzzle. It was used in a suspected crime."

Nick showed the hedgehog a picture on his phone taken by Fangmeyer back at the station.

"Oooh, I'm afraid that that's and old design that went out of production three years ago. Bit too well built for my taste, but it really tingled the tips of my wife…"

"Thankyou… don't want to know," he said, wandering out of the store. Looking at his watch, it was 15:55. "Right," Nick said to himself, "20 minutes and I'll be in the belly of the beast."

.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Nick grabbed his phone.

"Hello, Officer Wilde speak… hey Manny, what's the matter… They did WHAT?.. That's messed up… I'm sorry OK, I really am… I had no idea they would do this… I've got to meet with someone shortly but I should be at your place at half 5 latest. I'll call chief Bogo, see if he can do anything to help… OK… stay strong, I'm sure this is all a big misunderstanding…."

Nick turned off his phone and hit his head hard. "What's this world coming to" he said, as he hailed a Taxi. The empty vehicle slowed down as it approached him, but almost sped past him on seeing him. Sprinting out and blocking it, he got in the back.

"Acorn hall community centre".

The driver started off in silence, angry eyes reflected back in window. Yawning, Nick got out his ZPD badge and flashed it at him. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm entirely, 100% legit."

The driver snorted, and they set off.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

.

- **Nick** -

.

.

Acorn hall community centre was a place that Nick had avoided like the plague for many years. From the outside it looked like an ordinary building but Nick remembered what happened to him there. The last time he came here, it had been quiet in the dead of night, yet today it was warm and sunny with young families dropping off children. Glancing around, Nick noticed that around 1 in 10 of the children were predators, which he couldn't really complain about. He spotted a young lion cub and two otters, brothers by the look of them. Getting out of the taxi, Nick wandered through the crowd and noticed a few of the mothers looking at him. Most of the looks seemed to be honest enough yet the occasional one was a long, drawn out stare with some ineligible words being muttered under it. Looking around, Nick grabbed his police badge and showed it off in an attempt to pacify the crowd. He didn't want any more trouble than he had already.

.

"Are you a police officer?" came an innocent enough voice from below him. Looking down, Nick spotted a young Guinea pig below him dressed in his Scout uniform.

"Yes I am. Officer Nick Wilde on the ZPD. How can I help you?"

"My mum said you were fox faking it and that she would call the real police."

"… Well, your mum made a simple mistake. There's only ever been one fox on the force and that's me. So you can tell your mum the real police are here and…"

A rather frightened Guinea pig, about half Nicks height, came running up to the little boy and dragged him off by his hand. Nick heard the little boy tell his mum, in a rather confused voice, "He is a real officer, he has a badge and…"

As the boy's voice was lost to the crowd, Nick continued walking forward and paused. In front of him was the wall he had cowered on as he tore off the muzzle. There was no sign of this now but the colour and paint was the same. He didn't know why, but he was drawn to spot and sat down. This part of town was lovely but he couldn't help remember how alienating and large it had been back then. Without realising it, he had begun scratching the back of his head and his snout, subconsciously making sure that the dreaded device was still gone.

.

"Are you OK?," came the Guinea pig, who had wandered back towards him.

Nick, realising that he had been lost in thoughts, checked his watch. He had been phased out for a minute or two. Glancing at his reflection, he realised that his ears were flat against his head like when he was sneaking around Cliffside with Judy during the Night Howler case. Checking his heart, he realised it was racing while his mouth was dry and his stomach felt ready to empty itself.

"Physically… yes."

"What do you…"

The boys question was interrupted by a scream as the mother once again came barging in to retrieve her son.

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT HANGING AROUND STRANGERS," she shouted, as the guinea pig flinched and a tear seemed to form in his eye.

"Maam, I'm an officer of the law. And your son is a very concerned little citizen. You should be proud of him."

The Guinea Pigs mum looked at him for a second, before pulling back her son. Looking up, he realised that most animals had retreated several feet away from him, as if he was a danger. Standing up, Nick looked around, and chose to speak.

"My name… is Officer Nick Wilde… I'm here to talk to your scout master." There was quiet and a few coughs. "I'm sorry that I haven't been entirely professional… but… but…" Nick chose not to try and finish the sentence.

"Scout master A'dams is inside sir," answered a voice from the crowd.

"Thank you," Nick replied, as we walked up the stairs to the threshold. Stopping at the door, he looked up. "I'm a police officer," he whispered to himself, "I've survived being shot at." "I've been attacked by a feral Jaguar". "I can enter this place. I can enter this place. I can enter this place." Yet he was already hyperventilating, his fur on end, and legs turned to jelly. He couldn't enter. It had been 24 years but the pain was still there and his body refused to let him enter.

.

Grabbing a pen and paper, Nick wrote down a polite summons to the police house, stating that he could be answering some questions relating to a case with Nick and Fangmeyer. As he slipped the letter in, the doors opened.

"Long time no see, Nick Wilde…"

It was Bucky, the beaver who had masterminded his torment all those years ago. He was dressed in a fine scoutmaster uniform with multiple badges sown on. Their eyes were level but he was stockier and had the old thin eyes that had stared at him in his nightmares. Nick wandered back and was only able to get a quiet squeak from his mouth.

"Jim Stripes phoned and said you might be on your way. Let's go inside and talk."

With that, Nick was pulled into the building by the hand. Too scared to complain, he wandered into the scout hall, still smelling of floor varnish and decked out as it had been so many years ago. Some things never changed.

"He told me about the case you asked him about. I'd like to say that I know nothing about it. I borrowed the muzzle I used back then from a friend whose father was a police officer. Mink size, I think."

Nick just nodded and slowly wandered back.

"Listen mate, stop this silly act. I played rough with you two and a half decades ago. You grilled Jim so stop making it seem like I'm this eldritch horror. OK?"

Nick stared back. He knew that he could easily overpower the beaver. But this was person who had planned the moment that ended his childhood. He was dressed in the same outfit that represented his smashed dreams. He was in his domain, and he was king. There were many things Nick could have said, but in reality there was only one. Staring back at the Beaver, the lights seemed to be out and the limits of his vision filled by Bucky. Some words came out but all he heard was the four letters he most dreaded, "But you're a FOX!"

"What did I do wrong?" Nick pleaded, and then he ran. He was no longer a police officer, he was a little Kit, with a new uniform dirtied by kick marks, and a Muzzle cutting into his face. He was running away from hecklers and into the black night. "What did I do wrong?" he wailed, as he turned around the edge of the stairs. There were things in the darkness that were invisible and which he bumped into, yet he continued. Sitting at the edge of the stairs, he clawed at the edge of his head to try and tear his muzzle off, yet his hands seemed to pass through the straps. Somehow, he got the device off and threw it away. Pausing for breath, he buried his head in his hands and began crying.

.

"Mum..."

"Stay away…"

"But…"

"STAY AWAY!" the mother said, to her Guinea pig son. They, and the rest of the group, kept clear of the police officer. He had walked up to them looking a respectable officer of the law, yet now his fur was stuck on end with his head a mess. His black specs had been thrown onto the floor, smashing, while he was curled up and crying into his hands. Some phones were out recording the ordeal, while the scoutmaster had emerged in order to try and get his charges inside as fast as possible.

"Nick," came a soft voice. Familiar.

"Nick, it's me" it came again.

"I'm Judy's friend."

Nick looked up, he was back in the present, and Mrs Otterton was standing over him. Gently rubbing his head. He didn't know her too well, but they'd met several times after the Night Howler case.

"Come into my, car, we can talk."

Nick nodded, and meekly followed her to a waiting vehicle. While small, Nick was able to lie down on the back too seats as Mrs Otterton took off. "Need to go anywhere?"

Nick checked his watch, only five minutes had passed rather than the hour it seemed like. He paused a bit, "Zootopia Institute of Technology please, Alpha, Charlie, Nike, Epsilon fraternity please".

Mrs Otterton paused, "Odd place for you to be going."

"I have a case, there. A friend with the same… problems… I'm supposed to be his emotional support," he chuckled.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing."

"No, Judy said that something bad scarred your past but she couldn't say what it was. What was it?"

"I can't…"

"No. Something happened in that place and with maybe with our scoutmaster as well. That's how he knew your name. What did he do?"

"Nothing."

"I want the truth; my Kits are in there."

"He said he knew nothing about the case, I then freaked out."

"Why?"

"I… the bad thing happened in there. But your scoutmaster had… had nothing… to do with it."

"I'm the parent of two cheeky otter kits. What did that Beaver do?"

Nick sighed. He had calmed down a bit and realised it was futile to resist. "He… muzzled me. I was invited to join the group, I arrived in the evening and pledged myself, then he and his gang attacked and muzzled me because I'm a Fox…"

Mrs Otterton stopped, and turned the vehicle around.

"What are you doing?"

"Rescuing my babies and my friend's babies."

"No."

"Yes. I can't let them be by that monster."

"The worlds changed."

"No."

"He's changed."

"Not enough."

"He was eight, nine, I can't remember… This could lose me my Job."

The last part wasn't true. He could be struck off for libel, but this didn't really count, even before you factored in the fact that it was technically Mrs Otterton who was libelling.

"I'm sorry. But I won't let anyone who could harm my children around them."

"I know. But there is someone else's baby out there, a bit bigger I admit, who suffered the same thing as me. He needs my help now more than anything else. So please, don't get me dragged up in all this extra stuff I don't need now."

Mrs Otterton stopped the car by the side of the street. "I'll give you money for the taxi to your person. I'll go back, and tell him in private that I know… But if anything… anything happens that makes me suspect he's doing anything wrong. My children and the news are coming out."

"Thank you," Nick said. As he crawled out of the car, taking some money. As Mrs Otterton sped off, Nick hailed a cab and carried back on to Manny.

.

.

- **Manny** -

.

The room Manny slept in was small and bare bones. His roommate, a small Pine martin, lived in a converted children's play house fixed above his top bunk. That left Manny with the bottom bunk and the rest of the room. It was an odd situation, especially when the roommate attempted to install running water in his private house, but it worked well enough. The roommate himself was peering out of his bedroom window, looking down at the crying Wolf. He tried to come up with words of comfort, but gave up and retreated back inside.

.

Manny was hunched over the letter, crying about the contents. Even though he had had the words read out to him, and had read it many times himself, he still tried re-reading in a vain attempt to see if the words had changed. They came to him in the voice of the aloof manager of student safety, her condescending and spiteful voice hurting him with each syllable.

.

"Manny Guazu, our university has kindly sponsored you with a sports scholarship which provides free training, a free course and free accommodation that many other students would die for."

.

"Yet, you have decided to partake in behaviour that flagrantly breaks University codes. You confessed to being drunk and engaging in a forced muzzling activity, confirmed by the police, with a girl who may have been under influence as well. You have no evidence that consent was given by the other party or that she was in a state to give consent, and were evidently in a struggle, suggesting that she either revoked it or it never existed in the first place".

.

"We therefore have no choice, but to immediately suspend your scholarships, benefits and course access. You can still live on campus till your lease for this year expires. However, you may use no on campus facility".

.

"Thank you for your time, and goodbye."

.

He had tried, pleaded with them, that he was the victim. "I was the one Muzzled," he had screamed, but the response had been simple. "I'm sorry, the rules are the rules." Millie Kruger, however, had put it more simply, "Your collateral damage. Us women have been that for years. Stop complaining that it's your turn now."

.

An egg thumped on the window, shocking Manny up. Looking out, there was a small protest starting up. Millie was there, talking to a student reporter. By their side were three or four students with placards. One was chanting into a microphone, "Muzzlers off campus! Muzzlers off campus!" while another one, spotting him, shouted, "He's looking at me! I don't feel safe anymore! How is this right!"

.

His roommates had acted in shock when the heard what had happened. They had placards of their own set out. 'Justice for Manny' and 'Victim not Criminal'. They even had a party planned for that night, in order to raise support. He thanked them for it, but he didn't know what good it would do. He scratched around the back of his head, catching himself doing it again, before responding to a knock on the door. It was Nick, tired, tear stained and looking almost as broken as he was. They paused and hugged, before they sat down.

.

Nick paused, and started speaking "The greatest evil in the world, is now not done in sordid dens of crime, but it is conceived and ordered in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lit offices, by quiet mammals with white collars and trimmed nails who do not need raise their voices…"

"Roland Rhino?" Manny asked.

"C S Shrewis…" Nick replied, "though Roland did quote it himself."

"I see you met Vinnie," came a call from the Pine Martin, "studies English… sorry, I don't know what else to say."

"Thanks mate…" Manny quipped, before turning to Nick. "I'm not angry with you. Just help me, please."

"I'll stay with you, as long as it takes."

"How long will that be?"

"I don't know. But do know that I'll be there."

"… I know something happened to you, in your past. How bad… was it?"

"I… I don't speak about it…"

"If you want an estimation," commented the Pine Martin, "Look up 'Wuss Cop' on Zootube…"

.

.

- **Judy** -

.

Judy's room had been cleared of many files and details. On the surfaces and boards lay interviews and pictures as well as records and details. Judy stood up on her desk, and began lecturing three interested Bunnies who were looking on.

"So, we have fertilizer stolen from four farms: A,B,C and D. A, C and D both only had enough to just fertilize their fields before the thefts. Now, looking at eye witnesses, farms A and C both got all their fields fertilized but didn't buy any extra. What does that mean?"

"It means… that they stole each other's fertilizer?" asked one of her younger brothers.

"Exactly, A wanted some more so stole some of C's. In retaliation, C stole some back. As both use different types, I've sent off soil samples to check what has been used. We should get a mix which confirms that theory."

"So D and B?" asked a sister.

"Well, D had insurance and purchased top up fertilizer. They only had a small amount stolen and, from our evidence, it was an inside job. One of their workers went missing for a bit and came back with new clothes and such. We have no conclusive evidence, but it seems like he sold the stuff to gardeners for some extra money. I'll be taking you guys along to interview people and see if he was doing that tomorrow. What does that leave us with?"

.

"Farm B," said a young rabbit.

"They had plenty of fertilizer and didn't need to buy any more. However, we don't know where this stuff went and have no leads on it. They had no insurance, so it's likely not fraud. There were some tire tracks for a six-wheel vehicle, a truck of some kind nearby. They had nice photographs of the tracks with a ruler that are being processed by the lab back in Zootopia. Why are we doing this?"

"To see what kind of vehicle was used?"

"Exactly, if we can limit it down to two or three makes, we can look at local vehicles and see whether any match. Good job for today Bunny Burrow's irregulars! Mum should have finished dinner by now."

Collective sighs came from the crowd, but Judy smiled, "We can then investigate the mystery of the disappearing root veg stew!"

The little bunnies laughed as they exited the room. Judy began tidying up her desk as the patter of little feet began racing past. One thing Judy did truly miss about home was the food, slow cooked vegetable stews that melted in her mouth rather than the overpriced, chewy microwave carrots back in the city.

.

Wandering out into the hall, she noticed a set of older bunnies sniggering at her.

"What's the matter," she smiled wryly.

"Your boyfriends such a wimp," a young rabbit joked, as he walked past.

Judy grabbed him by his ears and turned him around, "what are you talking about?".

He handed her his phone and pressed play. Looking at it, Judy twitched her nose as she saw Nick, sitting down and breathing heavily while fussing his hair. She saw him get up and stutter some words.

"Oh no…" she muttered.

He went up the stairs, looking terrified, and stood there muttering to himself. He cowered as a beaver, dressed in a scout uniform appeared and pulled him in.

"Nick… what did you do…"

The video skipped, and Nick belted down the stairs, knocking several small animals out of the way, while screaming. "What did I do wrong?" came a sad cry, as her best friend hunkered down in a heap, clawed at his face, then broke down into tears.

"Nothing… You never did anything…" she said, as she gave the phone back to its owner, shut the door, and began to cry.


	8. Chapter 8

Authors note: I'm afraid I do have exams coming up. Consequently, updates will be fewer and further between (as well as less regular). For this I apologise.

.

 **Chapter 8:**

.

- **Bogo** -

.

"Fangmeyer," the police chief said as the officer entered his office.

"Is this about Wilde?" the white wolf queried back.

"Yes. I've trust you've seen the video."

"I've heard about it… but I haven't seen it. Is it anything like how he was at the training exercise?".

"At first, by the end he looks like he's truly got on my bad side."

"I assume that's your actual bad side, rather than your good side which people think is your bad side?"

"Yes. The bad side that not even adopting Wilde's sense of humour can get you on."

"Apologies sir… What do you plan to do?"

Bogo paused, before standing up and walking around his office. "This can't be treated as a standard offence or rule break. Wilde was obviously utterly terrified by something about that place or person. What a scout master could do to create so much trauma I don't know, but Wilde evidently didn't know what he was getting himself into. He's humiliated the force, no doubt, but the best course of action would be to give him some leave and then a desk job for a couple of months."

"And the case?"

"Judy reported back with her findings. The cases in BunnyBurrow don't seem to be linked so I'm pulling her back to partner with you. I also want you two to get a statement from Wilde about what happened there. Something to placate the press, who no doubt will be screaming in laughter about the humiliation of one of our poster child officers."

"Sir, If I may interject, having been around Nick while we were investigating the Guazu case it is evident that he has a great concern for it."

"I know. He requested that he was put on it. He can still help out in private."

"When he saw Guazu led in with a tight muzzle on him. That caused Nick to freak out. Then, when it turned out that Mr Guazu had been muzzled while under drugs, Nick was incredibly comforting, emphatic and, even disgusted."

"So, He's evidently scared of muzzles…"

"Why do you think he is? Why do you think he went to this place of all places? Why do you think he freaked out so badly?"

Bogo paused, then sat down. "The pieces are all there and I've seen the pattern, Fangmeyer. I don't want to believe it but I fear its true. However, we can't go libelling members of the public with such serious allegations."

"Understood sir," Fangmeyer said as he slipped from the office.

.

Bogo opened up a laptop with the ranger scout's website open on it. Scrolling down, he came to a page with Scoutmaster Bucky A'dams on it. There were two pictures of the beaver, a small one of him as a child dressed in uniform, and one of him as an adult in a scout leader suit. On his factsheet there were mentions of how the 33-year-old was a scout since he was seven and currently worked at his old hall. Bogo brought up his phone and pressed play, hearing calls for people to get inside the building. A cracking filled the room, as a bunch of pencils unfortunate enough to be lying around were squeezed by Bogo's hand until the ends came off in a shower of splinters.

.

.

- **Judy** -

.

Pulling up at the station, Judy desperately ran towards the ticket machine as her parents offloaded her suitcase. The queue was short, and Judy quickly received a ticket before meeting her parents back at the platform. The 21:20 was the last train until the morning, and would get her into the city at 11PM. However, she had to be back for Nick as soon as possible. Having already gathered enough information on her case, she had been given a short notice position as the replacement for Nick on his investigation.

"The train is five minutes late Judy," said her mum, "so we've got a bit of time to talk."

"OK," Judy said, glumly sitting on her case.

"I want to apologise" (Judy's ears pricked up a bit) "for the terrible things I've said about Nick. For worrying that he would get angry and hurt you. Or that he would abandon you…. Or the idea that he'd trick you into loving him when he's not good enough. The truth… the truth is that I've always seen Foxes as scary. Whatever you do, they always seem to be alert and poised. Seeing your friend like that made me realise… that they have weaknesses like us too. They hurt, they feel…"

"That they have lives full of love and loss, fear and excitement, pain and joy. That they're like us," Judy said, as she got up and hugged her mum.

"As long as he hasn't done anything viscous and nasty, I'm happy for him to be with you. I'll even be sending off a hamper to his family, to say sorry for how I acted."

.

The serenity was interrupted as the train rolled in to the station. As the doors opened, Judy grabbed her case and hauled it on board. Waving at her parents as the doors closed and the train set off, Judy brought out her phone and texted Nick, before settling down for the journey ahead.

.

.

- **Nick** -

.

Out of uniform, Nick checked his phone as he walked up the fraternity house. The place rang with music along with chants from the increasing number of protesters outside. Several of the students blocked his path as he tried to enter.

"Excuse me please," Nick said politely.

"Muzzle apologist," came a harsh reply from a large grizzly bear, his hands tightly holding those of the antelope and Donkey by his side.

"Regardless, I want to get inside."

"You're not welcome here."

"I think a few people in the house behind you will disagree."

"This campus is a civilized area for discussion and self-improvement. Not a place for muzzling supporters to congregate."

"So I'm a supporter now, am I?" Nick said, beginning to get annoyed.

"If you're not with us, you're against us."

"Listen. I'm the only one here who understands what being muzzled is li…"

"Liar," interrupted the shrill voice of the Donkey.

"Maam, trust me…"

"Men can never understand what it's like to live in a culture that considers women blabbermouths who need their mouths clamped shut and their expression destroyed."

"So, you've never actually had a muzzle on you?" Nick called out, loudly.

"Is that a threat?" The Grizzly bear said, as he began pushing Nick back.

"No. It was a genuine…"

"Need help here!," cried the Grizzly, as a feisty springbok came over and pushed Nick away.

"Stop pushing me Monster!," she said angrily.

"Maam, I assure you I…"

"I heard you threaten to muzzle my friend…" she shouted, continuing to push Nick back.

"No I…"

"And don't play the victim, like you instructed that stupid wolf to do or tried to do yourself by those poor scouts…"

Nick has had enough, and dived onto all fours in order to weave between the Springbok and Grizzly bears legs. There were few streetlights and he had good night vision so was easily able to pass through. He heard the protesters scream and some run after him but he got over to the door and entered before they could do anything.

.

The party going on inside was picking up a decent pace. Predators, Prey, Men and women were all dancing while fast paced music was being played out by a Cougar DJ. A set of disco lights painted the room with multi coloured spots while two elephants hauled in a new cooler filled with drinks. Checking his phone, Nick muttered "See you soon Carrots" as the music died down and a large Rhino entered on stage.

.

"Hello Ladies and Gentlemammals. Despite the protestors outside, we're all having one great party in here…" he said, as a loud cheer went up from the crows. "But, we must talk about why we, and they, are here tonight. Earlier today, one of our members, Manny Guazu, was kicked out of this university after he was drugged and muzzled." The noise in the crowd died down, as the Rhino continued, "His crime was simply being a Man. But we won't let this stand, will we!" A load scream of applause came up from the crowd. "His course-mates are already sharing their notes with him. We have a collection box to help fund his basic living expenses and to independently enter him into his exams. But tomorrow, we protest at the University campus to right this wrong!"

.

Hoots and hollers of support emanated from the crowd, and only increased in volume as Manny himself entered. He still looked shaken from earlier, but was supported by his roommate and the Rhino. Reaching for the microphone, he began stammering out a speech. "F-f-friends… I'd like to thank you for… uhhh… all the support… all the support you have given me. These last days have been… hell. For me. Last week I was happy and carefree like you all but after finding out I… I have… I have been nervous… and scared… and…" Glancing over, Manny caught sight of Nick in the crowd. "And… If it weren't for one… weren't for one brave Fox Officer on the ZPD who has listened and trusted and supported me… I don't know what I would have done… Come up here Nick!" There was a brief murmur as Nick slipped himself towards the stage. Manny grabbed him, and hoisted him up so that their heads were level, and a cheer erupted from the crowd. "Nick here is a true friend! Tonight, he and I will go back to the Victorifur tunnel bar where we will prove what happened to me!" The cheers erupted into chanting, and the music resumed playing. "I'll be back soon enough friends!"

.

"Are you sure you want to go back there Manny?"

"Yes. Besides, I can't be much worse than what happened with you."

Nick paused, his upper eyelids and ears flattening in a mixture of annoyance and contempt.

"I'm sorry, Nick. What… What did the police chief make of it?"

"Gave me a week off and I'll be on desk duty for several months. I also had to give him a statement to send off to the press before they print tomorrows papers."

"What did you send them?"

"If it was up to me, nothing. But my Job was on the line so I wrote some guff about it being the site of a lot of childhood bullying… unrelated to the scouts."

"What does that mean for you and me?"

"Well, one is that I already have a girlfriend so the you, me, us stuff is a bit inappropriate."

Manny pulled a mildly amused look before playfully punching Nick in the shoulder.

"Two is that I'm off duty. So I don't have to go undercover tonight nor do I have to book you for that blatant assault on an officer of the law. Three is that I can continue to help you in my spare time."

"Thank you."

"Just to warn you, don't try anything dodgy. My girlfriend is taking over my part in this case and you do not want to get on her bad side."

"Ok. I'll just get my stuff. Meet up in the back hall in 20 minutes?" With that, Manny left and Nick, alone chose to wander the house.

.

"Mr Nick?"

"Hello…" Nick turned around to see the Bobcat DJ, who had stepped down for a bit.

"Hi, I'm Bobby. I heard you planned to go to the Victorifur tunnel bar?"

"Yes, can you help."

"I can. I helped build it."

"Really?"

"Yup. When I was a sound design student here five years ago, I was part of the group that set it up. It was me, a few construction students, a history student, and a good chunk of the Anarchist society."

"I assume it's in the Victorifur tunnel then? Where's that?"

"You know the Victorifur shopping centre? The ugly one with the strange old clock tower?"

"I think so."

"It used to be a grand old station, taking trains from east to west through the centre of the city. Of course with cars, train traffic dried up and all trains were re-routed to Zootopia central as it was a much newer station. The old gem of a building at Victorifur was demolished with the viaduct on the east side used for the shuttle train."

"And the Tunnel sealed off?"

"Exactly, until we found it and turned it into the club. Now most people enter it via a discreet building in an alley near the shopping centre. But the tunnel end can still be accessed if you go to the abandoned station at Snow Street. You just walk along the tunnel till you find a back entrance and then you slip into the crowd."

"Snow Street station is near where I grew up, I remember exploring it a few times and salvaging scrap to sell. This is a big help, thanks mate."

"Good, I better get back to my Deck. My remix will be run out soon."

As the Cougar ran off back to his soundstage, Nick relaxed. Having a secret entrance wouldn't just help them stay under cover, it would reduce the risk of Manny having a breakdown just like Nick had. Nick turned a bit, then smelled something…

.

Nick opened the door to the small back hall and, right in front of him, was the springbok from earlier trying very badly to be sneaky.

"Hello again."

"… Get out my way."

"Why, you're the one trespassing here."

"Get out my way."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to prove my point. To prove that places like this support and foster a muzzling culture."

"Muzzling culture? Like the one that muzzled my friend and then kicked him out of his university?" Nick said, beginning to get very agitated. He stared up at the large Springbok, who began to push herself up against the wall.

"It was Collateral damage. Muzzling is a tool men use to control women and if we start confusing the is…"

"YOU!" Nick shouted.

"What?"

"YOU!, You, were the councillor who got Manny kicked out of university!"

"And what if I was?"

Nick looked at her, almost in shock. "Doesn't that prove your point. There is a culture, your culture, that believes this whole thing is Man Vs Women and to suggest that its anything else is treason."

"So typical of men, ignoring the problem… turning us victims into criminals…"

"If I didn't know what it was like, I'd muzzle you right here and now to stop this endless, endless hypocritical bile you're spilling."

"Please… don't" she said, suddenly beginning to break down and cry while Nick stared on confused. She was acting as if he was sincerely going to muzzle her, yet looking between her coats he could see she carried the odorous fox repellent and a fox Taser. He couldn't even come up with a witty remark to put her down with, so he went back inside and left her there, seeing as she wasn't worth the effort.

.

"Manny"

"Nick, what are you doing here?"

"Your 'councillor' is acting strange and was blocking the path out back. Any third way of exiting this place?"

"There is an old coal cellar we could use. It's a bit of a climb but we get out straight into the bushes."

"Sounds private enough to me," Nick said, as the two left the room and went down to the ground floor. Manny opened up a small door underneath the stairs, revealing bricks steps into a basement which the two went down. Weaving behind supplies and all manner of junk left by previous students, they came to a corner lit up my moonlight coming in from a shaft. Opening the bolts on a hatch, Manny clambered out before holding out a hand to pull Nick up with.

"I talked to the DJ and he says that there is another way into the bar. We get on the train to my neighbourhood at Canyon street, then we walk over to the old Snow Street station and enter a tunnel."

"Your neighbourhood? Know anywhere we can get a bite to eat. I'm famished?"

"There's a small bug burger joint…" Nick said as he was pulled to the surface, "called Makuna Hetata, run by a lovely Meercat and Warthog who treat life like a musical. Been open since I was at school, even worked there for a bit".

"Why did you quit."

"If I had to listen to their song one more time… I'd have ended up in a straitjacket…" Nick replied, as the two sneaked off into the bushes.


	9. Chapter 9

Authors notes: This will likely be the last update until after the 19th of May. Exams and stuff, it's just the way it is.

.

 **Chapter 9:**

.

- **Nick** -

.

The air was cool at this time of night. A breeze from tundra-town had brought a slight chill to the air but, under his fur and clothing, Nick was still warm enough. Behind him, Manny trudged along diligently as Nick picked the way along the old viaduct. Before them, lay the remains of an old station that was long abandoned. The land rose up in a hill with the large station building laying worn and battered above them. Below it, on either side of the main tracks, lay the platforms which once took terminating trains. The steel and glass shelters were thinly lit skeletons in the moonlight while an old carriage lay off to the left in one of the bay platforms, abandoned to the ravages of time.

.

"So Nick, what happens if a train comes along?" Manny asked, his voice hushed up as if someone were watching.

"Manny, back when I was a Kid, all the rails had been torn up. There is no…"

Nick stopped as a light seemed to flicker inside one of the tunnels. It vibrated, and was getting closer. Peering through the grates that covered the tunnel entrance, Nick realised that there were two lights.

"That's a car, HIDE!" Nick shouted, as he grabbed Manny's hand and dragged him across to his left. The two jumped onto a platform and snuck into the remains of what was once a waiting room. The hum of the car's engine slowed, and there was the sound of the gate being unlocked.

"Manny," Nick whispered, "I might be able to catch the registration plate as the car drives away. Tell me when the car has gone past…"

Manny nodded his head as Nick, covering his eyes, shifted his body so that he faced the way he had come. The car's engine revved a bit before slowing, as the gate swung shut again. There were a few muffled words, before the engine picked up and the car moved past.

"Now," Manny urged, as Nick opened his eyes and got a good look at the back of the car.

"Green van; large size, but not elephant or giraffe; registration DRA Z1L…"

"Are you sure it's green?"

"Yup… looked as green as my shirt, my eyes and our fur."

"… Or it could be red," Manny retorted, as he and Nick hopped back down onto the track bed and walked over to the gate.

"Listen, 'Red' is just this practical joke a load of prey animals created to annoy us canines. Ooooh, there's this fantastic colour out there that you can't see…" Nick said, heavily accenting the last sentence while he fiddled around with a pin and the lock on the gate.

Manny paused for a bit, his mouth opened slightly and gaze peering out into the mid-distance, before he snapped too, "then why, Nick, do traffic lights go green, light green, green?"

"Because, Manny" Nick replied with a sly grin growing across his face, "green is the best colour." Nick unlocked the gate and the two stepped in. A slow hum of music was coming down the tunnel as the two started along it.

"You lead the way Nick, your night vision is better than mine" Manny said, as the two plodded their way through the blackness.

"Nick, all us canines are colour blind, didn't they give you the test to prove it?"

Nick chuckled, "All I got were a bunch of nuts showing me a picture of green dots and saying that there was a number five in there."

"There was, we just can't see it…"

"Because all the dots are green Manny."

"And what about the compliments about how lovely your Red fur is, or other foxes with orange fur?"

"Well orange is just a name for a lighter shade of green, and red is people who are in on the act."

"There is no act!" Manny said, his voice now raised.

"There is. My earliest memory, me sat down on my old Man's knee, he said" at which point Nick puffed his chest out and began speaking in a very poor Winston Church-mouse voice. "'look son, everyone thinks us foxes dumb. So much so they make up this fake colour called red and try and convince us it exists and we can't see it. Don't let em' get the better of you, us Wilde's know where things are at. Whatwhatwhatwhat… Humph!'"

"So every song lyric that calls blood red?"

"Lie."

"Red as a rose?"

"Green flower stem, leaf and petal."

"My Night vision isn't that bad, I can see your giant grin."

Nick chuckled, "stop here, large beam, I'll help you over."

As Manny was guided over the obstruction, he turned to Nick, "If there was a pill, that let you see red and orange and yellow and purple, rather than just green and blue, would you take it?"

Nick paused… "I'd queue up for days and weeks just to see what the fuss is about."

"I'd queue up for months."

"And then come back next year when they release ultraviolet and infrared."

Manny chuckled, and gently punched Nick in the shoulder.

.

The music by this point was very load while a roughly built brick wall stood in their path. There was a single door to their right which was locked shut but, apart from that, there seemed to be no other way in.

"You know that some construction students helped build this place?" Manny said.

"The DJ said so himself."

"Well, it seems they've done everything by the book."

"What do you…oh yes," Nick said, as he spotted an air grate at the base of the wall.

"The crawlspace is too big for you but I can get through. Wait by the door. If I haven't opened the door in 10 minutes, go back to the station."

"Will do" Manny said, as he ripped off the grate to allow Nick to crawl through. Down on all fours, Nick slowly snuck through the pipework and supports beneath the wooden floors. Avoiding some rather nasty looking drips that seemed to emanate from a toilet unit, Nick found an opening in the floorboards which was surrounded by bottles and boxes of who knows what. Lifting it up, Nick found himself under a large bed. He had just placed the board back down, when he heard a slam and felt the bed above buckle under a heavy wait. Peering from underneath, he realised that two rather tipsy wolves were in the room.

"I've been a… 'HICK!'... naughty boy tonight, haven't I Melissa?"

"Well, I know what happens to naughty dogs like you."

"I do too. Do I get the little puppy muzzle, or the big bad wolf muzzle?"

Nick recoiled in disgust as the female wolf, smoothly replied, "We'll have to see. Let's have a game, the loser gets the police muzzle and the winner the little puppy one."

Nick, beginning to hyperventilate, curled up into a ball with his ears and hands flat on his face while the bed above began shaking and creaking. The wolves giggled and a spring broke loose, firing itself down in front of Nick with a comical spudoing! There was a loud thud, and the male wolf was on the floor.

"Wrestle mania champion, once more!" cried the female wolf, as she hopped down to pick up her partner.

"I truly can't beat you."

"Maybe you just want special agent Melissa to give you the tough muzzle?" she said, as she grabbed the device from a cupboard and clipped it on. Nick scrunched up as he heard the steel clips tighten.

"Oh, I du wuv the…." Mumbled out the boy wold before the muzzles inner ring was tightened to seal his mouth shut.

"My turn now," replied the female wolf, as she passed something to her partner. Nick saw the leather strap and panicking, looked around. Noticing the door was slightly ajar, Nick sneaked out and into a corridor.

.

.

- **Manny** -

.

"Ah Nick… Nick?"

Nick stood in the doorway, his eyes glazed over in a thousand-yard stare.

"Are you OK Nick?"

"I have seen no evil. I have heard no evil. I will speak no evil." With that, Nick turned and walked in with Manny following. Gentling closing the door, he followed Nick down a corridor lined with various doors. Near a slightly ajar door, Nick pushed himself up against the opposite wall and shimmied past. Manny followed, but his pricked ears heard some talk from inside. A few mumbles and "I love you's" but nothing that would really explain Nicks condition.

"Did you see something in that…"

"Don't ask," Nick grunted out through his gritted teeth as the omnipresent music reached a high note. Turning the corner, they were back in the main bar area where his nightmare had begun.

"That was the bar, over there" Manny said into Nicks ear.

"We'll hover about there for a bit, see what happens."

Mingling about in the crowd, there was an ebb and flow of mammals receiving drinks, snacks and top ups. As a loud French rap song came on, Manny noticed that Nick had seen something.

"Stay here, I need to talk to the DJ. Keep on looking."

.

.

- **Nick** -

.

There were three DJ's on duty, and it didn't take much gesturing to call down the one he was interested in.

"I knew you had a new Job, but I didn't expect it to be this."

"Shut your mouth Fuzz."

"Ahh, come on. It's not like I'm parading you around in cute outfits anymore is it Finn?"

The diminutive Fennec Fox looked up, and to Nicks great surprise, broke a small smile.

"The last time you smiled like that was a year ago when Judy blackmailed me into her investigation. I can't remember the time before that."

"Three years ago, when we were selling all day parking under my van for rodents, the irate meter maid gave up trying to find a law to book us with and ran over your tail."

"You did enjoy my suffering, basis of a long and happy friendship."

"Tuesday boys night just doesn't have the same spark does it. When you left for the academy I struggled a bit by myself you know."

"Well, it did you good in the end?"

"Yes. But seeing what you do now, what end is that going to be? You're here to close this place, right?"

"See that fellow over there?"

"Want to know if he can pass you off as his Elephant loving son?"

"He's a friend. He was drugged and taken from this place and ended up in the middle of a park half mad due to night howler in his system."

Finnick paused, a concerned look on his face. "That's messed up. I just play music here. Talking of which, I better get back up."

"See you tomorrow, by the way, if he kisses me I'll make sure to bite him."

Finnick flicked a quick smile, before placing on his headphones and resuming his mixing. Nick wandered back to Manny, who was looking very concerned.

"See that Moose?"

"Yep"

"I think someone dropped something into his drink."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked, but as if to answer the moose got up and stumbled, before being led into the rooms by a female Hippo. Manny began walking into the crowd, following the two while Nick followed him in turn. Back through the corridor, back past the rooms and to the door. The Van had returned, and the Moose was loaded in.

"You have your phone with you Manny?"

"Yup."

"Take the normal exit out. I'll track these guys, OK?"

"OK."

.

After a short discussion, the Van (which was the same one seen before) revved up and was bumping down the tunnel. Nick had both Judy's Carrot pen and his phone, and had recorder the conversation on both. Unfortunately, it had been a banal discussion about some recent sport results and Nick was still none the wiser about what was going on. Having sneaked up onto the Vans roof, Nick held on as they exited into the moonlight and bumped along the old viaduct. The city around them dropped down before rising up again and, at the next abandoned station, they turned off into a rail yard where more vehicles were waiting.

"Are you sure you got a nobody this time?" came a call from the yard, as a gruff Ox came into view.

"Yes, I triple checked this guy. Lives alone, no friends, sad story yada yada."

"This isn't funny anymore. Not since you took that scholarship student from the university."

'Manny,' thought Nick, as he turned back towards the Ox.

"Well, I'm not the idiot that let him free and neither are you so why are we complaining. His bear friend is still doing good."

"Well it's not going to last. I told you the police are on us and I might be getting a visit soon."

"What do they know?" asked the now concerned driver.

"Nothing yet, just an old acquaintance going on a hunch. But broken clocks being right twice a day and all that guff, right?"

Nick looked closer… the Ox standing there once stood before Nick a long time ago. 'YOU', he thought, as he observed his past tormenter.

"Well listen, we might get another one, maybe two today. I've got an old friend who wants to get in so you can take your pay and leave for a bit till it feels safe again."

"That's up for the big boss to decide," said the Ox, as he hauled open the back door and led out the delirious moose. The van started again and began backing out of the yard. Seeking his chance, Nick slipped off, and began stalking the Ox and Moose. The two moved into a pickup truck and, after giving the moose a drink that caused him to drop off in the back, the Ox entered the front and turned on the engine. Nick dashed and, just in time, hauled himself into the pickup truck bed.

.

It was in tundra-town that Nick realised something was up. The driving had started out fine but was getting more and more erratic. Where at first Nick had merely steadied himself in the corner, he now clung to the sides as they weaved through small side streets at high speeds. A bump jolted Nicks head upwards before burying it under a heap of rope. While trying to untangle himself, Nick realised that he recognised the taxi behind them. He had seen it earlier a few times. Daring to peak over the top of the pickup boot door, Nick spotted that the passenger in the taxi was Manny.

'No, Manny. Why do you have to be so helpful,' Nick thought. Manny likely thought he was doing the right thing but, being spotted meant the driver was panicking, and was less likely to return to his home base. Looking forward, he noticed that the driver was getting out his phone. Grabbing the carrot pen, Nick eased open the back window and slipped inside.

"Listen. I'm going to have to dump the asset and burn the vehicle. We've been had… It's not my fault… well, a mutual past events may have encouraged a certain police officer to look into this case more closely… Wuss Cop…. You haven't seen the video?"

Nick frowned in the back at the uninformative chatter going on.

"Wait what? It's probably complete baloney knowing him but this will mess everything up for them! I mean everything!... Don't get me started, you don't know the most Ironic bit!... She's a nut from what I've heard but she's a nut talking with Gazelle and the ZDP need to show they're tough… Exactly, I advise we use the time given to change our collecting point and find a new drop off zone along with a new set of vehicles. Cover our paths so by the time the guns get retrained on us, we're out of range. Bye."

The conversation hadn't revealed much, but Nick knew that they had to act fast. Catch them now or spend months waiting for another clue.

.

Nick waited until they turned a sharp bend before jumping into the pickup bed once more. Pretty sure he hadn't been spotted, he wandered over to the left side and waited for a large snowdrift to come up on the outside of a bend. With the timing right, Nick jumped and felt the cold embrace of snow take him in. It was then he realized that there was something around his leg. The rope was taught in seconds and he was yanked by his leg back into the road. Desperately balancing himself on the tips of his claws, he ground along the road desperately waiting for the reprieve of an Icy patch before the once beautifully formed appendages wore back into flat stumps. Looking up, he spotted the taxi driver and Manny stare in horror as they entered a sharp hairpin to the left. Nick swung out, seemingly into the path of an oncoming tanker lorry. At the last minute, however, he swung out of the tankers way and watched the rope go under the skis. There was a quick snap as the rope cut and Nick, now painfully rolling along the road, went off the edge.

.

He didn't have much time to think before he registered the fact that he was buried in a snow drift. The one thing he did remember, however, was the carrot pen spilling out from his torn pocket and rolling down the slope behind him. He knew he needed this evidence and, unbeknownst to him, some ancient instincts would help him out. Sniffing, he picked up the faint whiff of the pens plastic, before wandering over and diving headfirst into the snow. By the time Manny arrived, Nick was on attempt number four. The maned wolf observed the strange behaviour in silence as Nick coiled up his body and jumped. Arcing in the air, his snout pierced the snow with his upper body following. The legs and tail left sticking out twitched a bit before the scene erupting into a chaotic shower of snow. In the centre was a scratched, bruised Nick who, despite shivering, held the carrot pen proudly in his hands.

.

.

- **Judy** -

.

Judy didn't work well late at night and needed her sleep. Knowing she had issues with her neighbours, Nick had gifted her a key to his place. It may have been a poky ex boiler room that would have made Bellweathers office look luxurious, but it was quiet. Thinking Nick would be home, Judy had travelled there. On finding that he was gone, she fixed a notice to the door and bunked down on the sofa. It must have been midnight when she dozed off and, at 5AM, she groggily woke up. She would have gone back to sleep had she not realised she was in Nicks bed. Looking around, she realised it was empty and, as she entered the main room, she saw Nick fast asleep on the sofa. The dumb fox looked terrible with fur matted up in crazy angles and the once ebony claws scuffed and broken. She walked up to him, gently kissed her forehead and returned to bed.

.

It was an early morning knock at the door that woke her up the second time. Wandering out of the bedroom, she saw Nick let in two large ZPD officers.

"I was going to inform Judy about what I found last night, but if you…"

"We know what you did last night" came the aggressive voice of a Hippo officer, who was wandering up to Nick.

"OK, I did a bit of undercover…"

"Shut up and we won't harm you. I have a warrant for your arrest."

Nick paused and looked at Judy, he smiled in a manner that was almost congratulating her on a well plaid joke. However, that smile vanished when the Bison officer grabbed Nick by the shoulder and turned him around, allowing the Hippo to fasten a pair of Handcuffs and fix Nicks hands behind his back. Nick was now looking scared as his rights were read out and Judy desperately tried to intervene.

"Listen, whatever is happening I…"

"Are you OK?"

"Yes, but…"

"Did he do anything you? If he did, then…"

"No. Nothing, what is going on?" He…

"'Officer' Nicholas Wilde is under arrest for the forced muzzling of Millie Kruger at a college fraternity party last night."

"What the… there's no way he could…"

"Leave it for the witness statement Officer Hopps."

Nick, having been silent for a while, spoke up, "I don't know how you think I could of done such a thing but for god's sake I didn't…. You're letting real villains get away here, I need…"

He never finished the sentence as a police issue muzzle was rammed on Nicks snout. Within seconds both the back straps and the forward aperture were tightly shut leaving Nick mute and terrified. Judy heard him whine as his body began shaking violently as he was dragged out by the shoulders.

"Don't bother Officer Hopps, we know you like Wilde a bit too much. He muzzled a poor girl and tried to sly talk his way out. Think it's fair he gets the same treatment and nothing you can say will change that."

As the officers reached that car, Judy saw Nicks trembling eyes and body go limp as he fainted, before the doors were shut and he was led away. Locking the door behind her, Judy looked down the road they had taken him.

"You couldn't of done this Nick. I'll save you, I promise…" but the words sounded hollow and hopeless in the quiet of the early morning.


	10. Chapter 10

Authors note: I've been off doing exams for a while, I plan to slowly get back into writing. Updates should really start picking up, starting in about 1 week.

.

- **Judy** -

.

Judy's mind was awash with though as she travelled through the city towards the precinct. She rattled through the possibilities of how Nick could have been accused for a crime that she knew he couldn't of committed. Was it false identification? A deliberate distraction by whoever he had been investigating, she had heard him mention real villains getting away didn't he? Was it some joke that spiralled far out of control? Whatever it was, she was confident that he could be quickly placed on bail and then have the charges dropped. That was, however, until she saw the protest crowd outside the station.

.

To say it was large was a bit of an overstatement, none the less there were many mammals in the ever growing crowd. She counted more than there were during the rallies back in Bellwethers day and, unlike then, they were all united on the same front. A few officers stood by the side-lines and she heard abuse being kicked at some of them by the more aggressive protestors. News crews were already appearing, setting up cameras to record the event as it unfolded, and reporters were interviewing the protestors. The signs and placards hovering about varied, but many carried the same kind of message: 'one law for us all'; 'we demand justice'; 'muzzle the muzzler' among many. A few onlookers saw Judy, dressed in her uniform, and directed their anger towards her. Rushing through, Judy tried to ignore the screams and shouts but some words, particularly 'Apologist' and 'traitor' got through. Be strong for Nick, she thought, never let them see that they get to you.

.

"Welcome back Judy, I've sort of lost my marbles here. Don't know what's going on with all this chaos and…" Clawhauser tried to say as he desperately juggled phones and emails

"I need to see Nick," Judy pleaded.

"No can do hon, just… just pop into the bullpen and catch Bogo. I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding. He'll be out soon enough."

"I hope so," replied Judy, as he ran off to catch the morning briefing. Entering the Bullpen, she was shocked to see the normally boisterous mood replaced with a quiet tension. Some officers, like Francine, looked away from Judy as if she was tainted. Others, like Fangmeyer, gave her a look of sympathy. She even heard a few snide remarks, stating that 'she was in on this' in the background as she took her seat.

.

"Quiet dow…" Bogo said as he paused, trying to comprehend the uncharacteristic silence of his men and women.

"As you all know, one of our officers has been accused of an incredibly serious crime. Personally, I believe there is no way that he could have done it, however we have standards to uphold. Standards I intend to uphold fully as we progress through this investigation. That means that the accused will remain anonymous, but will be kept in custody for both his, and others safety. I'm sure you all know the accused's real identity, but you will not speak it to anyone. Anyone who lets it slip loses his or her badge. Immediately."

A murmur went around the bullpen, and Judy saw angry glances being thrown about the room. She saw Francine tense up, but Bogo was already responding.

"Officer Francine, I know you feel strongly about this subject. But we have a legal code to uphold. Just be rest assured that I will be treating the accused as I would anyone else. This annoys me as much as it annoys you but that's tough. In terms of assignments, I…"

The door burst open as Clawhauser, panting, came in. "The protest… speaker…."

"Later, Ben"

"Gazelle… speaking…"

Bogo paused, "this will be interesting. Plug in your phone, I'll get the projector and speakers."

The two set to work and quickly got a front projector running. Turning on the news on his phone, the entire room fixed their eyes on the news report playing in front of them.

.

The ZNN logo flashed as the two anchors, a snow leopard and a moose, began to speak.

"We have a breaking news story. A ZPD police officer, currently only known as Officer N, was arrested earlier this morning after he was accused of forcibly muzzling a college student, Miss Millie Kruger, at a college party he was seen attending. We have yet to contact the ZPD, but aim to do so in the next hour or so."

The news screen switched over to a video feed of the protest, as the female anchor took over.

"Forced muzzling has been shooting up the social agenda in recent years with many harrowing reports of women and even young children being subjected to it by abusive partners. Meanwhile, ZPD has always used judicial muzzles to assist in the safe capture of dangerous criminals who pose a bite risk. To many, these two uses of the metal device have always been separate yet, today, we have seen a shocking change in the situation. A ZPD Officer was arrested this morning for the forced Muzzling of an innocent college student and social mentor, Miss Millie Kruger, seen here speaking at a rally."

The camera focussed on the springbok, who nervously addressed the crowd. "I was always told the ZPD was there to protect. Yet… last night… I was violated by an Officer of the law. He said that… he had a right to muzzle anyone who was… naughty… and said that he would get away scot-free with it."

"Many protestors have gathered, angry at the perceived risk of the ZPD covering up an abuse of power in its ranks. From what we gather so far, the Officer in question has been arrested and is being treated like anyone else accused of the same crime. We have no way, however, of verifying these claims. Many are angry, however, and believe the ZPD aren't going far enough. Chief among them is famous singer Gazelle who, after the Night Howler incident, chose to tackle the muzzling epidemic by charity work and raising awareness".

Judy noticed Clawhauser move and squirm as Gazelle arrived on the stage and comforted Millie. "Millie here is an inspiration to all girls. She helps those who are abused and stands up to the wrongs in society. Yet, someone who pledge to do the same thing in the ZPD chose to try and silence her with a muzzle. We need to know who this criminal is so that any other victims of his can speak up. We need the ZPD to protect the city, and to abandon rather than protect this wicked mammal."

The news report cut back to a discussion, as the officers in the bullpen began talking to themselves.

"Ben…" Judy looked up and saw that Bogo was trying to talk to a very cationic looking Clawhauser.

"Ben, can you hear me." The Cheetah remained silent and still, with just his eyes wandering left and right.

"Listen, I know this is hard on you… Gazelle's just a mammal. She's wrong sometimes…"

Judy saw Clawhauser twitch a bit, then faint.

"He… he probably crashed. Needed turning off and on again. Could you take him to the medical office Francine?"

The elephant sighed and picked Clawhauser off the floor by the scruff of his neck. Carrying him like a kitten, she took him out of the room.

"Anyway, back to assignments. Just resume yesterday's tasks. Hopps, could I see you after?"

Judy got up to reply but was interrupted by Delgato, "They're talking about him again!".

Once more, the focus of attention was on the still running news article. A discussion was well underway, with the moose anchor talking with several journalists. One of them, a bespectacled Mole, was speaking at that moment.

"Once more we see how the entire system is corrupt. Lionheart, Bellwether, now the ZPD. Protecting the big crooks while arresting the little ones. The fact that they haven't given us the identity of this perpetrator is a scandal."

"Mr Molliet," the Moose Anchor replied, "We all know that they have brought out a perfectly legal injunction to protect the accused's identity while the case is ongoing. We can't say his name."

"But we can release basic identification details in order to help previous abusers identify him."

"You refer to age, height, species, colourings, previous activities do you not? With respect many species are represented multiple times over in the ZPD."

"And some only once, such as Foxes."

"What are you insinuating?"

"I am stating, quite legally, that the abuser was a Red Fox who works for the ZPD as an Officer. Just so happens there is only one, mildly famous individual, who fits that description."

Oh sweet cheese and crackers, thought Judy, as she heard the bullpen erupt with anger around her.

.

.

- **Nick** -

.

One would of thought that fainting would have given Nick a reprieve from his muzzle. That it would have helped pass the time until it was removed or given him some dreams to distract him. Instead, Nick had lived out the scout incident once again. The muzzle fully enveloped his mouth and clawed into his snout while the straps at the back of his neck dug into his skin. With each tug and pull, things only got worse. The kicking and insults of the 5 onlookers only got worse and worse, far outmatching the ferocity that they had displayed in real life. Nick struggled and broke free, running once again into the night and towards his spot. More digging and clawing, and the dreaded device was somehow off. Yet, as Nick tried to move his mouth, he felt his lips sealed together. He tried to scream yet the sound came out as a strange grunt from his nostrils. The back of his head and snout were getting tighter as his teeth fused. He got up and ran, where he planned to go he didn't know, just far away from here.

.

Wherever here was, it wasn't back there. Nick got up with a jolt and fell off the bench he had been sleeping on. Landing hard on the floor, he realised his hands were uncuffed. The muzzle, however, was still firmly attached. Every part of his body shook with terror and he vainly tried and failed to scream. Scurrying into a corner, Nick began to try clawing at the muzzle once more even though he knew that this type wouldn't come off without a key.

'You thought we would trust a fox without a muzzle? Your even dumber than you look'.

My old friends, thought Nick as he tried to preserve at least part of his sanity. He didn't want to go back into another nightmare, so he focussed on a small piece of graffiti and tried to drown out the bad thoughts with the hope that Judy would be coming. 'She's always there to save me', 'She'll be here soon'.

.

She wasn't there soon, but two other friends were.

"I hope you know how to hustle out of this one," came the deep voice of Finnick. Beside him stood Manny, looking inside with puppy dog eyes of sympathy. Evidently unsure of what to say, Manny stuttered out some words before Finnick took over.

"If I didn't have two angry looking guards beside me, I'd slip through and pick your lock. Not sure what to do after that though."

Nick tried to utter something out, but all the others heard was an incomprehensible set of wheezes as air escaped Nicks lips.

Finding some confidence, Manny found his voice: "Nick, I was with you that night. I'll be your witness in court next week. I'll defend you down to my last word."

Nick looked up and managed a thin smile at the two friends.

.

It seemed like an eternity, but it was only 30 minutes. 30 minutes in which Nick had picked at the straps vainly. Although dulled by last night's adventure, they still did damage and red spots appeared across his face as blood matted his fur. Nick, in his pit of self-pity, barely heard the door to the cellblock open and the light patter of feet coming down the hall. His ears pricked when he heard Finnick say hurry, but it was the scream that woke him.

"NICK!"

Squeezing through the bars before the other guards had time to react, Judy rushed up to Nick and rapidly undid the locks on the metal cage. She pulled it off and threw it across the room while Nick, pausing for thought, tentatively felt the fur around the snout strap and the back of his head. He sniffled a bit, before grabbing Judy in a tight hug and bawling his sorrows out. The pain, the mental torture, the confusion and betrayal, he let it out onto Judy in the largest release of emotions in his life. He no longer cared about not letting them see that they get to you. He had carried the burden long enough and just wanted to let it go. While he was so glad that Judy, his Judy, was here he would have let it go to anyone. Finnick, Manny, heck even Bogo or Flash; he could no longer carry all this.

.

"I'll get you out Nick. Don't worry. I'll work night and…"

"No."

"What?"

"No, I'm not important…"

"Nick you Dumb Fox, you're the most important thing in this world."

"No, you listen to me. Once you and Manny give your witness statements, got back to my old case."

"No…"

"Yes, please. It's more important. Far more important. I was so close but… we can't let them get away."

"Let who get away…"

"Someone is kidnapping, drugging and muzzling people…"

"What?"

"They know they're almost caught and are planning on moving their operation. You have to stop them."

"I don't…"

"Talk to Manny, I have info on the carrot pen. One of the scouts, Daniel Oxley, is involved."

"My place is here with you."

"A nut job sent me to prison with no evidence. I've been in this situation twice before. Crazy accusations don't stick."

"Nick, outside…"

"I don't care Carrots. There is something far bigger going on out there. Please, protect the city. I'm fine."

"Someone on the news revealed that you did it. Not by name but…"

Nick paused, his mouth opened slightly, before he stuck to his guns once more.

"Ignore the rubbish you parents will send you. Help my family if they need it. But stick to the case."

"I won't be ashamed if you're selfish just this once. My place is by your side."

"You solved the night howlers in less than 48 hours. My first hearing is next week. I expect you to finish this and then you can be by my side."

"Are you… Are you sure?"

"Yes. Finish this before I get out, I'll pay for a celebration date at the best restaurant in town."

"And if it all goes wrong. If I'm still working when you get released, or your found… guilty…"

"Then you pay for it fluff."

"Dumb… Dumb Fox," Judy said, with a smile crawling across her face.

"Your Dumb Fox," Nick said, finally smiling too.

"Your sly Bunny".

The two hugged once more and Judy squeezed out of the cell. Nick watched her, Manny and Finnick disappear before he climbed back onto his bench and relaxed in an attempt to get a decent snooze.


	11. Chapter 11

- **Judy** -

.

Judy owed Nick. One meal out, that was what she had promised Nick if she failed to wrap up his case in one week. She had handed in the carrot pen, checked the Jam cams and even interviewed the suspect that Nick had spotted. Yet all the leads he had tirelessly worked to uncover were undone in the time it took Judy to take over the case. The van had appeared as a burnt out husk while the suspects spotted in the club had run to hide in the shadows. A team of other officers were looking into the problem, indeed they had to seeing as the missing mammal reports were finally filtering through, yet the focus was on Nick's trial for both the ZPD and her. Driving down the street she tuned the radio, quickly catching the tail end of 'try everything'. Sadly, however, she had forgotten about the news bulletin scheduled to come after.

.

"ZNN news at 10 AM. The trial of ZPD officer Nick Wilde, for the crime of forced muzzling, is to start today in earnest. Wilde, who revealed his name after learning that his identity had been leaked, shot to fame last year when he assisted Officer Hopps of the ZPD in solving the infamous Nighthowler case. He went on to graduate valedictorian of his class and became the first vulpine officer in the ZPD's history. This has only made the accusations levelled against him more shocking, and has…"

.

Judy silenced the radio as she pulled up to a boarded up storefront in an old part of town. Getting out, she slipped into the open entrance and heard the rhythmic sound of a sewing machine humming away.

"Mr Wilde?"

Judy came in closer and saw Nick's father hunched down by a suit, carefully stitching the inner velvet to the tough outer fabric. His jaw was slightly open, pulling open the bizarre contraption around his muzzle which, in turn, controlled the sewing machines speed in place of the standard pedal.

"Mr Wilde?"

The Fox looked up and jolted from the surprise of seeing Judy. His mouth open, the sewing machine sped up and dragged the suit, along with his tie, through the needle. John was able to call out a quick 'whoa!' before clamping his mouth shut and stopping the machine just as it was about to skewer his nose.

"I'm sorry, let me help you!" Judy cried as she raced forwards, but John had already turned off a large safety switch and began to speak.

"Just… go upstairs and talk to the girls. I'll untangle myself."

"Are you…"

"Just go. Please."

Judy pulled back, before heading upstairs to where Nick's mum was waiting.

.

Francine Wilde was sitting in the dusty lounge, in her old lilac dress, where Judy herself had sat down a week or so ago; bathed in warming sunlight coming through the back window. Her eyes were closed as if she were snoozing, but as Judy entered, her left eye (shielded from the rays of the sun by her paw) opened and she spoke softly.

"Morning…" she said in what was barely more than a whisper.

"Morning Mrs Wilde," Judy meekly replied as she wandered in.

"If you want to be in the sun, just ask. I'll move."

"No, you… stay where you are. I'll sit down somewhere else."

"Suit yourself."

Her voice seemed monotone and distant, like what you would have expected out of Judy's 101-year-old grandfather (although in reality he was louder and more outspoken than the rest of her burrow combined). In reality, however, Judy could sense the pain behind her words as the Vixen tried to hide her feelings behind a veneer just like Nick had.

"You… don't have to hide anything around me. I'm here to be by your side, just like with Nick."

"You sound like you're a member of the family," Mrs Wilde said with a hint of happiness, "Just a shame really."

"What is?"

"We've got nothing to be scared about with you and Nick being together. But your parents… even before, and now. How bad has it been?"

"No, not bad at all," Judy said in a painfully optimistic voice.

"Dumb bunny, I can hear that that's a lie from a mile off. Comes with being a mother you know."

Judy sighed and shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "Well, at the end of the crazy day when I was back at home I chose to head back to Zootopia after seeing the video…"

"Video?" enquired Mrs Wilde.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers, you haven't seen it have you?"

"Seen what?" Francine said as her eyes opened (straining against the bright sun until she placed a pair of sun glasses over her eyes).

"Nick tried to interview the beaver at the scout hut. He… he broke down and it was captured on video."

Francine gulped somewhat and began fidgeting with her hands. Judy saw her body language change as the bridge of her snout wrinkled and ears dropped low against her head. Not the rigid low that Nicks ears did when he was in trouble or they were in danger but a limp, sorrowful down as if they had given up on supporting themselves.

"Anyway, seeing him in that state… it mollified them somewhat and they said that they were fine. They even mentioned sending an apology hamper to you for that night. But on the day he was arrested… I had to turn my phone off to stop the calls and texts coming in. They were pleading with me to come back for my safety or angry that I was selfish enough to risk being around such a monster."

"Monster," Francine barely whispered.

"I'm sorry," Judy stammered out realising what she had said, "I was… I was…"

"Quoting your parents, can't accuse you of anything really. I think I called John a pretentious git a few times in front of Piberius" she said, Judy being glad that her voice seemed to of picked up and a smile form on her mouth again. Judy herself, however, realised something and spoke up.

"Piberius?"

"My father in law." Francine commented. "Nice fellow, passed away a few days after Nick was born. He was old, had John when he was almost 50 you see, so he was thrilled to see him marry, yet alone be able to hold a grand Kit before he passed away."

"So you gave Nick his name in his honour?"

"Middle name, I'd never give a poor Kit an ancient first name like that," Francine chuckled, a signature Wilde grin slowly forming on her snout.

Judy, glad the Francine was getting happier, relaxed a bit and began pondering about a lighter subject to talk about. However, Francine had risen and gathered up a dusty book from a shelf. Peering at it, Judy realised it was a photo album

.

"So that's Mr Piberius?" Judy asked, as she pointed towards an elderly looking Fox cradling a bundle of cloth in his arms. A thin arm, coloured an orange brown, gently reached out and was trying to grasp the large nose hovering over it. To the right, Judy could make out Francine herself in her hospital bed, carefully looking on.

"Yes it is. He and his wife died before Nick was three so he doesn't remember them sadly. My parents were old too and both passed away just before John's accident, but he remembers them well however."

Francine turned over some more pages and Judy saw the little bundle of fluff she called Nick grow. His ears swelled out to ridiculous portions as his fur adopted its current red hue. There were pictures of a chaotic mess, which Francine merely smirked off as 'the introduction to the terrible two's', before Judy saw Nick grow further as he approached school age. Unlike with many other animals, there was little resemblance between little and adult Nick, bar the fur and eye colour. Judy had to remember that fox cubs kept their snouts very short in proportion to their faces and then rapidly grew them out when they hit puberty; which meant that they only got their adult faces very late on. Ending her train of thought, Judy realised that Francine was showing off a picture of Nick in a school uniform.

"I can't tell you how annoyed John was with those uniforms," Francine smirked. "He called them ugly jumpers and said that they gave the little animals no dignity or pride. Want to know what he did?"

"OK?" Judy enquired.

"He wrote to the school complaining. Asking if he could let Nick wear a blazer and tie in the school colours of all things! School said no, of course, but Nick would always have a freshly ironed shirt, trousers and jumper each day!"

Judy chuckled a bit, and then looked on. She passed on through fleeting glimpses of Nick Wilde's childhood: Learning to tie a tie with his father; playing football on the street with an older and slightly larger Fennec Fox; several cooking mishaps. She saw him stand proudly between his parents in front of a new suit store, glass and trim gleaming in the warm midday sun. It was only then that Judy realised something.

.

"What happened to the storefront?" Judy asked, immediately regretting the decision and Francine's ears pulled back defensively.

"Some… nut jobs to say the least, thought it would be a laugh to smash up the place." Francine replied, sounding bitter.

"I'm sorry."

Francine turned to look at Judy and replied in a worn and defeated tone, "What about? You didn't chuck rotten eggs, break our window, write graffiti calling us scum and our child a monster."

"I… didn't know it was that bad." Judy said, concerned.

"It's… manageable. I mean, even with the extra cost and lost business…"

"Lost business?"

"Down a third, We've… we've had worse," Francine said, beginning to struggle.

"Don't worry, I'm here for you… and Nick".

Francine turned and looked sadly into Judy's eyes. Judy could see the veneer of control that Francine had built up crumble as she shuffled through the album. Reaching a page with a turned over picture, she grabbed it and flipped it so Judy could look at it. On the polaroid was an 8-year-old Nick, wide grin on his face, wearing a brand new Junior ranger scout uniform while his hand was up in a 3 fingered salute. Judy saw Francine run the tips of her fingers along the picture of little Nick, who was still smiling and gleefully unaware that his childhood was about to end brutally. The Vixen, almost seeming twenty or thirty years older than she really was, turned to Judy and her eyes turned red as tears began to form.

.

"Please… please. He's my little Kit. They must know he couldn't have done this," she sobbed, suddenly grabbing Judy and holding here in tight. "Tell them Judy. Please tell them that my little Nicky would never do anything so cruel…. He's not a monster. You saw didn't you?" she said, pointing at the picture once more, "whatever people say… whatever people think… you know that that isn't a monster?"

"I know," Judy said, beginning to cry herself. "Myself and a few other ZPD officers will testify in his defence. I've got an alibi and another last resort witness who could help out. Nick's old case has dried up so I'm putting in extra work for this. We'll show them everything and they will look back and wonder how they could ever think that Nick was a monster."

"… Thanks," Francine responded.

"Where are the twins?" Judy asked, realising she hadn't seen the two teenage Vixens.

"Up… upstairs. Nick's more of an uncle to them rather than a brother given the age difference and stuff but… Well like all of us they've needed time to think."

"Speaking of time," said Judy. "It's time to go."

.

Zootopia central court house was surprisingly new inside. The seating and furniture was all clean and modern (but quite sterile and soulless) while the air was cool and odourless rather than the dust and musty smell you would expect from this type of institution. Outside, Judy could already see several protestors turn up in support of Millie. Glancing over, she even though she saw a few members of Gazelle's organisation team, although the eponymous singer was nowhere to be found. Spotting four foxes from a mile off, a large number of protestors glared at the family with ill-intentioned stares. Judy herself received a good number too and nervously tugged her collar as the party pushed John up the ramp and into the main hall. Travelling across the marble surface, they came to a reception desk and asked for details regarding both the courtroom they had to attend and the location of the holding cells. A traffic Jam meant that they couldn't all see Nick at once and thus Judy elected to speak with Nick and his lawyer in order to brief him on his strategy. Parting from the four foxes, Judy walked down quite corridors until she met a guard who let her in to a cell. Inside was Nick and his lawyer.

.

"Morning Judy," Nick said in a sincere and serious tone. Nick knew how serious this was, to the point where he didn't even need to be told to behave in such a manner, but the lack of teasing or the upbeat in his voice was disconcerting none the less.

"How are you handling it?"

"OK… I'm scared, bored but… OK."

"We don't have much time, but your family is here and they miss you."

Nick smiled and looked up, Judy could see him picture his family (not just the looks, as evident by his closed eyes, but the scent, his nose was twitching, their voices, his ears lifted up, and of course their personalities).

"Foxes," Judy began, "always so emotional."

Nick returned to the present and chuckled, relieving Judy seeing as she knew that the real Nick was unharmed by the ordeal. She turned to the lawyer, a newly qualified Weasel, and her glare hardens.

"You're a new lawyer provided by the courts. If you can't handle this, please say so now."

The Weasel, taken aback, quickly regained his composure.

"Miss Hopp's, let me assure you that I have won far more difficult cases. Having spoken with you and various witnesses, it is clear that such an act was both out of his character and impossible due to an Alibi we have. This should be an open and shut case, he'll be free within a week."

Judy, initially taken back by the gusto of the lawyer's self-defence, relaxed as she realised that Nick was in the hands of a professional. "So, what's the strategy?"

"Well, firstly I intend get Mr Wilde to respond to all the lies and slander brought forward by his accuser, thus neutralising their attacks. I then intend to interview both you, Chief Bogo and Mr Guazu into order to convince the Jury that Mr Wilde's Character is such that he couldn't of committed this crime. Finally, I aim to bring forward the witnesses and evidence that provide Nicholas with an Alibi. That should clinch the deal and convince our Jury that Mr Wilde is innocent."

"And the nuclear option?" Judy asked. From the corner of her eyes she saw that Nick had no idea what she was talking about, probably for the best.

"I don't know what use you think he is, but we can discuss tonight if you think we need to bring him in."

He doesn't know… thought Judy. Nick had made it known that he was scared of muzzles but she had assumed that he would have also explained why to his lawyer. She silently cursed at her stupidity, and looked towards Nick.

"You didn't tell him why, did you?"

Nick pulled back defensively, "I didn't think he needed to know Judy".

"Listen Nicholas Pi…" Judy began, but they were interrupted by a bang on the cell door.

"It's time," said the hulking guard, and with that Judy left the two in silence.


	12. Chapter 12

- **Judy** -

.

Judy and the Wilde family, along with several members of the ZPD and a few of Nick's associates, sat down but were widely surrounded by reporters and many young men and women who were likely friends with the accuser. Up in front she saw the top of Nick's head enter, his ears flat down against his head from the nerves. Several barristers had filed in while a Jury assembled to her right (a relatively random mix of sexes and species, to Judy's relief). There was the sound of a slamming door as the judge entered. For a moment, it seemed like he wasn't going to show up but, as a murmur began to grow, the small mouse climbed up to the top of the desk.

"Court is in session…" began the mouse, in a fairly deep authoritative voice, with an accent similar to Bogo's. Peering towards him, Judy noticed that he was a similar age to the elder Wilde's and wore a paw shaped broach on his clothes.

.

"The court is now in session," bellowed the Judge, as he looked below at the court. His eyes came to rest on Nick. "Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you are hereby charged with the assault and forced muzzling of miss Millie Kruger on the night of the 2nd of June. How do you plead?"

Nick paused for a bit, before finding his voice "Not Guilty."

"Very well. We will start with the first witness. Miss Kruger."

Judy watched as the Springbok climbed into the witness stand and was sworn in.

"Can you recount what happened on the night that you claim Mr Wilde attacked you."

Judy phased out as the girl began recounting out her storey. There were plenty of moments when she paused, or blubbered or even asked for reassurance from her barrister. She was hard to follow to say the least but, listening through, Judy picked up the story. Nick had barged past her and some protestors at about 9pm. Half an hour later, she chose to come close to the building in order to investigate what was going on. Nick had seen her, invited her in to discuss some matters, and then locked her inside. After calling her an idiot above her station, he muzzled her and secretly locked her in the basement. Thankfully, she had been able to pry the device off fairly quickly and escape, at which point she contacted the police.

.

A few friends of hers chose to verify this with statements and a video recording. They talked about how Nick had acted violently towards them while they protested, seemingly offended by their presence. Millie's lawyer then submitted a recording from the night, apparently being done by Millie as part of an investigation. It started off with Millie moving towards the building and (after a few moments of ruffled sound) skipped to Nick's voice: "I'd muzzle you right here…" Judy heard the entire court gasp and begin to mutter. There had been no question that it was Nick, no doubt that that was what he had said and no possibility that he had said it in anything other than anger.

.

Judy sunk back, stuck in thought. Why would… why would Nick? No, it had to be taken out of context hadn't it? Nick's Weasel lawyer certainly thought so. "Objection sir. My client states that this recording was only part of a much longer conversation and that large parts have been doctored or cut out and thus the context is changed significantly. I'd like to request that the recording, and if possible the phone, are sent to an analysist to test for such changes."

"Are you arguing that my client broke the law and doctored evidence?" retorted the prosecution.

"My learned friend, by defending my client I am arguing that your client is breaking the law and lying under oath. I see no reason why tampering with police evidence, in order to pervert the course of justice, is out of the question too."

"My client has no motive to doctor the evidence. Surely it is more likely that your client, who operated shady business schemes for over 20 years, is lying under oath instead."

"I would like to object to this slander against the character of my defendant. Mr Wilde, while spending a long period of time working in the informal economy, did nothing legally or morally wrong."

 **"Order,"** came the judge, who had grown weary of the back and forth between the two lawyers. "We cannot discount the possibility that this recording was altered, henceforth it will be investigated for tampering or fabrication."

Judy looked around and saw Millie. Was that a nervous look on her face?

"The phone on which it was recorded may not be investigated however. To do so is a gross invasion of privacy on behalf of the accuser."

Judy spotted a definite sigh of relief on Millie's face. 'Liar', she thought.

Next came a doctor, who described how a simple loop muzzle (rather than a cage muzzle) had been used. "When the accuser removed it, she would of likely left it in place in a fit of panic. It seems perfectly likely that the defendant, when turning up in the morning to deal with Millie, found her gone and disposed of it. We did record some bruising on Millie's snout which is generally similar to that left by this kind of muzzle. We also found some DNA evidence, in the form of fur, that verifies that the accuser and accused did meet. Finally, it seems quite clear the defendant had been in some kind of struggle not long before his arrest with multiple bruises around his leg and face."

.

"Mr Wilde. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" said the bailiff, standing next to Nick in the witness stand.

"I do."

"Can you recount what happened on this night?" came the defence lawyer, standing proud on the lectern in front of his client.

"At about 9PM, I entered the building to meet up with a friend who I was helping through a very tough period in his life. This was when I first met Miss Kruger, she tried to block my way in. I was annoyed but got through and ignored her and her followers. After entering the house, I talked with a few people and my friend. He and I then agreed to leave in order to do some informal research on a case."

"What case was this?"

"The… precursor to the current missing mammals case. We had evidence that this friend had been drugged, kidnapped and muzzled at a bar. We went out to gather information. I witness someone else suffer the same fate and was able to get some vital leads… now squandered by the time wasted by this trial!"

The accuser's friends were incised by the comment, but a loud bang of a gavel silenced them. "Please continue with the original story, Mr Wilde," called the judge.

"Anyway, I noticed Millie trying to sneak into the building. I confronted her, at which point we argued. The out of context statement from before came from this argument, I assume she had her phone on and was recording it. She did say that she was 'investigating', although in reality it was to try and confirm her own biases. Anyway, I met up with my friend and we left shortly after via a coal cellar hatch so as to avoid the crowds."

"Could you specify what this full conversation was?"

"I… She said that this place was a hotbed of muzzling culture and that I couldn't possibly understand what it was like to be muzzled since I was a man. I replied, stating that if I didn't know what it was like to be muzzled, I'd be tempted to muzzle her in order to shut her up."

"Do you know what it's like to be forcibly muzzled? Excluding, of course, any legal or consenting use of the device," the Weasel asked, sounding genuinely curious.

'Don't tell me you still haven't told him', thought Judy, as she saw Nicks eyes widen and ears pull back as he gauged the trap he had led himself into. 'Do the right thing', Judy thought, and to her relief he did.

"… yes," Nick reluctantly said, with the same pain and sadness in his voice that was present in the gondola just over a year ago. He hadn't told the lawyer, but now he had to tell the whole court instead. His ears were sunk flat against his head which itself was dipped low with regret.

A quiet murmur came from the back of the crowd.

"How would you describe the experience."

"Traumatic… Life altering… It still haunts my dreams." Nick stammered out. Judy could see that he was remembering a part of his life that he wished he could forget, but never could. His breathing was getting deeper and more rapid while his voice sounded dryer and hoarser as if he felt he would relive that moment any second now.

"As a police officer, you have to work with muzzles. How does your past with the devices affect your use of them?"

"I feel deeply uncomfortable around them. During my training… I freaked out a bit when we first saw them. At first I requested that my training with them could be dropped. However, I was given some mentoring tips and therapy to calm my nerves and was able to use them effectively given time. However, I still get scared by the thought of wearing them. Before my arrest… when I spent several hours in a tight one… well, if I'm in a loose one for more than a few minutes, or I'm in a tight one, I freak out… badly. It's probably a lot worse now but I don't want to try it out."

"How badly do you freak out?"

"I uh… shake, hyperventilate, it brings back repressed memories and I uh… faint."

"Would you ever sincerely consider putting a muzzle on someone who wasn't a physical threat to you or those you work with?"

"Never," Nick snapped. With a confidence unlike that of any other statement he had said since he took his stand.

"Thank you Mr Wilde, that is all for now."

Nick sat down and his lawyer comforted him. Both the Jury and the audience were murmuring intently as the next witness was called. Looking to her side for the first time, she realised John (who's wheelchair was parked in the corridor) was comforting Francine who was crying. Judy's ears dropped, however bad she felt, she had to remember that Francine had it far worse. Many of the audience had been staring at her before, silently accusing her of neglect and raising her son a monster. Now, however, Judy realised that these glares were also blaming Francine for failing to protect her son. Some would have seen the video of Nick (before a court injunction took it down) and put two and two together but others hadn't. To them, Francine had carelessly let her son fall into the trap of monsters and Judy knew how much such an accusation would hurt her. Turning forward, she looked on as Chief Bogo, the next witness, was sworn in.

.

"Police chief Bogo. Could you describe your relationship with Officer Wilde?" queried the lawyer.

"I don't deny that I had some prejudice the first time I saw Wilde. I was angry, I was dealing with someone who I believed was acting above her station, and she wanted me to put my entire faith in this random fox off the street. However, within a few minutes of first meeting him, he proved my biases wrong. Over time, I have come to regard him as one of my best officers. He may not always play by the exact rules and is quite annoying a lot of the time, but he is very effective and compassionate. In the short space of time he's been in the force, we've seen reoffending rates drop for a number of high crime species, not just Foxes, but also Weasels and Racoons. Wilde understands why these mammals are forced, or feel forced, to turn to crime unlike any other mammal I know and they can see that it's actually possible to break the mould. Let us also remember that he, along with Officer Hopps', uncovered Bellwethers plot and thus saved this city from a terrible future."

"Indeed, while Officer Hopps' rightly receives the lion's share of the credit, Officer Wilde's contribution was vital to the case as well. What can you say about Wilde's relationship with muzzles?"

"While I had read a few notes and noticed that he often removed these devices; his relationship didn't become clear until a training exercise. He was nervous to begin with and, looking back, was panicking when he had a muzzle placed on him. Not realising this at the time, I made the officer fitting the muzzle tighten the front strap as an example. Wilde very rapidly lapsed into a panic attack before passing out."

"Could you conceive of any situation in which this Fox would attack or Muzzle Miss Kruger."

"Personally, none. He has no reason, no motive and it goes against some of his deepest beliefs."

.

"Mr Guazu?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me what you did on the night Miss Kruger claims she was assaulted."

"I met up with Nick at 9PM. At about 9:30PM we left my house via the cellar to avoid Miss Kruger's protest crowd. We stopped off at a small bug-burger joint before heading on to investigate the area I had been abducted from."

"The case in question, heavily involved muzzles. What was Officer Wildes relationship with these devices?"

"OBJECTION!" came the prosecution lawyer. Looking over, Judy saw that he had Millie next to him, whispering in his ear.

"What is the reason for this objection?" stated the judge, obviously annoyed by the interruption to the proceedings.

"My client's states that this witness is of bad character and unreliable…"

"Which would be examined during cross examination."

"He was also expelled from his university for forced muzzling."

Judy heard conversations pick up in the back of the courtroom as Manny sheepishly pulled himself back as if threatened.

"The integrity of the witness has no bearing on the outcome of this case," stated the Judge, "carry on and if you act like this again I may hold you for contempt". In response the lawyer sat down and glared at Millie, who had obviously pushed him into acting in such a manner.

'No bearing' thought Judy. She knew it was hokum, the Jury would see him and Nick as brothers in arms, a textbook character assassination. However, Nick's lawyer was already on the case.

"If I could, may I inform the Jury about the details of the witness's legal situation?"

The judge pondered for a bit, before agreeing.

"Mr Guazu went to Miss Kruger for therapy after a traumatic muzzling event. Miss Kruger treated him with contempt before manipulating his statement. His university has a zero tolerance policy and thus, despite being the victim, his involvement in an event got him expelled."

Judy heard booing come from Kruger's supporters while the Jury turned and talked among themselves. It took the judge and his gavel to silence them all.

"In any case," continued the lawyer, "he was expelled under possible doubt, i.e. there was merely the potential he did it. For any legal bearing to be in place, he would have to of been found guilty under reasonable doubt. I.E. it is certain or near certain he committed the crime".

Manny seemed to relax somewhat as he was asked, once more, about Wilde's relationship with muzzles.

"When he first saw me, I was under the influence of dilute night howler and had a tight muzzle on. He came in the next day to remove it. When I learned that I had been forced into a muzzle, he comforted me. He knew better than me what it was like. When we found the device used on me, he was disgusted by it. I don't know how I would have made it through that day without him. Nicholas Wilde is a saint…"

.

"Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do," Judy said.

"Your Honour," butted in the prosecutor, "I would like to object to this witness…" The Judge, however, quickly put him down.

"I believe it is common knowledge that she is both a professional partner with Mr Wilde and a close friend, potentially more. In my view this has no bearing on the case and is not in the interest of the court. Overruled." The Judge replied, reasserting his authority.

"Miss Hopp's, do you consider Mr Wilde trustworthy?" resumed Nicks defence.

"Do I trust Mr Wilde, up to and including with my life? Yes, I do."

"Has he ever been cruel?"

"He's nothing more than a big tease." Judy looked down and was glad to see that Nick was smiling. This was the first time she had seen his face and he looked tired. Glancing at the clock she realised the court didn't have much more time till it closed for the day.

"Would he ever force a muzzle on an innocent person?"

"He feels vile about muzzling wolves and jackals who are attempting to bite his tail off. No, he wouldn't muzzle someone out of spite or force. Never, ever."

"Can you tell me what happened on the night of the supposed attack?"

"I got home at midnight. I woke up a few hours later to find Nick was home. Next time I woke up was when he was arrested."

"Can you tell me anything about the so called 'wimp cop' video that was taken down a few days ago?"

Uh oh, thought Judy. She hadn't expected to see this come up. Looking forward, she saw Nick's eyes widen as he hunkered down out of embarrassment.

"That… that is the kind of trauma caused by forced muzzling. He merely returned to the location it occurred in and it sent him on a breakdown. I see no way he could force that on anyone."

.

The Judge had checked the time, and decided that it was time to adjourn the session for the day. Judy waved at Nick as he was led away and met up with his family. They silently parted ways, tired after a long day.


	13. Chapter 13

Authors notes: Now that my exams are out of the way, I've planned out the end of this story and I am slowly building up a backlog of future chapters which I intend to publish at 3 day- 4 day intervals. The good news is that this gives me time to read through and improve the chapters, improving how they read and feel. Case in point, the current trial arc was originally one long chapter which (as I was very unhappy with the rushed pacing) I was ultimately able to fill out into four medium chapters.

- **Judy** -

.

"It went well today," said the lawyer, as he and Judy wandered down the steps on their way to the lobby.

"Are you sure?" Judy replied, still a bit nervous.

The Weasel breathed in and relaxed, letting his spine droop from its stiff form and into the more familiar curved shaped that befitted any Mustelid. Judy only now noticed how small he seemed, similar in size to Mr Otterton. Like his form, his speech took on a more relaxed tone. "The Jury will leave the courtroom having spent an hour or so hearing how my client can't hurt a fly. That leaves an emotional impression and, tomorrow, we bring in the alibi. We then lead onto the cross examination; in which I plan to lay waste to the accuser along with her doctor. He himself states that there is no definitive proof that his client was muzzled in the first place! Their entire argument is built on sand and should fall apart in no time. However, I fear that, as a result, their cross examination shall turn into a… how do you put it?"

"Mudslinging contest?" Judy enquired, pausing on the marble landing between floors.

The Lawyer straightened up again, and adopted a more formal tone in his voice. "Indeed, and for someone who wishes to resume life in a position of responsibility, that is something we want to avoid."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Tomorrow morning, I have arranged a private conversation between both the client, the accuser and their respective lawyers. I'm to try and convince her to withdraw the case and, in return, she gets off scot free."

Judy pondered over the statement before picking up on something. "What do you mean, she gets off? Could she actually face time for what she's done to us?"

"Well, should Nicholas be found not guilty, then there is the potential for Millie to face charges for providing false witness statements; wasting police time and perverting the course of justice."

"How much evidence do we have on that?" Judy said, her tone hardening as she realised that she had a chance to repay the pain Nick had gone through, eye for an eye.

"A reasonable shot, however we don't know whether the ZPS (Zootopian prosecution service) would wish to pursue the case or not. In any case, I legally can't stop them if they wish too. What I can guarantee to them, however, is that we won't file any civil charges."

"But I don't want to file any charges… does Nick?"

"Don't know, likely doesn't. But she doesn't know that, does she?" he said, smiling and tapping his fingers like he was up to mischief. Judy looked on, slightly concerned, and the lawyer spotted this and pulled his hands back.

"Sorry," he laughed, "I'm just a Weasel."

Judy was taken aback for a moment, before coming in to comfort him.

"No! You are not just a Weasel. You are a great lawyer, a defender of the innocent…"

"And Guilty half the time," he interjected. "Some people confessed to doing their crime to me and they were found innocent. A few, I have no doubt were innocent, but were found guilty. It's all part of the Job."

"Oh… Ok then," Judy said, slowly trying to find the words for a more eloquent reply. The lawyer, on the other hand, had other plans.

"When I said I was just a Weasel, I never meant that in a bad way. Every animal has different talents, different personalities and different species traits. Long ago, I realised that every animal has good traits and bad, two sides to the same coin. It just so happens that for some species, we see both sides, and for others we only see one."

Judy stopped, thinking about what the Weasel had just said. As a Bunny, everyone had always assumed she was kind, honest and trustworthy and she had taken this for granted. She had also, of course, been called a dumb bunny who was scared stiff and out of her depth. Nick, however, had only ever been seen for the bad side of his coin. 'Wilde understands why these mammals are forced, or feel forced, to turn to crime unlike any other mammal I know'; 'had he been anything else, he would be praised as an entrepreneur'; 'special talents: night vision, excellent sense of smell, business savvy'. She remembered these quotes and statements, and realised that many less advantaged mammals were the same. They had a list of good traits just as long as their list of bad, it was just society chose not to see it.

"I see what you mean, I'll try it more often. Seeing both sides of the coin… If I don't mind you asking, why did you become a lawyer?"

"Well…" The Weasel began, "When I was young, my father was charged with fraud. Now it didn't look good but I waited through for hours in the back of this room, listening to the debate, and in the end he was found not guilty. Shortly after, we had a fancy dress day at our school where we came in dressed up as what we want to be when we are older. Who else would I choose but the man who had saved my dad… After that, I just went forward. I started watching court programs and drama's…"

"Not Judge John Pedigreed…" Judy moaned.

"You don't like him?" The Lawyer shot back, incredulous.

"Every Thursday night, my mom always watched that boring Dhole on the TV while I peeled carrots with her…"

"I got the complete boxset for my 11th Birthday…"

Judy paused, wondering how any 11-year-old could have possibly enjoyed that program. It only got stranger as he talked at length about how he re-watched every episode once a year.

"… picking out all the legal issues in it. I mean, that dog was a walking conflict of interest in half of the episodes! Anyway, I just kept on learning, studying and got in contact with the lawyer who defended my dad. He encouraged me and I entered law school aged 18. It was tough, no doubt about it, but I made it. Eventually…" The Weasel paused as he looked at the time on his watch. "Nick's probably waiting for me, See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow!" Judy shouted. She turned to head down the steps, and then realised that through all of this, she had forgotten the lawyers name. For the last day or so, she had only referred to the person defending her best friends… no, lover's freedom as either the lawyer or the Weasel. She took a deep breath, vowed to fix this by tomorrow, and carried on down the steps.

.

By the time Judy got down, the lobby had emptied out somewhat from the protest she had assumed been in there while the court was in session. There were still shuffled chairs and a few displaced protest cards but the large crowd, in support of Millie, had moved outside. The Wilde's would be returning home by tram while Judy would be using her car (borrowed from the police carpool.) As she exited the building, she saw that the protest had, in reality, moved outside. It wasn't really a protest anymore, however, as the crowd was faced away from the building and clapping. Sneaking through the legs of the larger mammals, Judy reached the front and saw Millie, with none other than Gazelle herself, on a small platform. Pricking her ears up, Judy heard that the cries around her weren't of anger, but rather encouragement and support.

"Fellow Zootopians…" Gazelle began, "Today my friend met her attacker in the courts of law and she was brave… SHE WAS BRAVE!" Gazelle almost sung the last part as the cheers grew louder. Gazelle turned to Millie and embraced her and, in a moment of intimacy, flicked at a tear of bit of dust near the Springbok's eye. "Let us hope that our legal system is brave enough to not let her down, like it has to so many poor other women. Only 1 in 20 cases of muzzling ever goes to court and only 1 in 40 ends in conviction."

Cries of support came as Millie took over: "Thankyou friends… today was tough, for both me and you. I have been invited to talk to my attacker tomorrow, he thinks he can scare me!" Booing in the crowd began to grow. "Well, tomorrow, I'll shut him and his sop stories up so much, you'll think that it's him in the muzzle!"

The crowd erupted in support around her while Judy fumed and thought. Who does she think she is? What motivates her? But as the Gazelle and Springbok waxed lyrical about how they were still feeling 'the tight grip of the muzzle', Judy's mind wandered back to Nick.

.

.

- **Nick** -

.

.

Ever since he had become an officer, Nick Wilde had been able to put away the cool, smug exterior he had maintained for twenty something years. Truth be told, it was tiring to always be snarky and fast talking all the time. No doubt, a lot of his skill came down to his natural instincts; when he was engaged in conversation he could easily parry the verbal attacks and thrust in with his own. But instinct could only make up so much and that was when practice and effort took over. It was all part of the old job, being liberal with both truth and lies in order to straighten the road he aimed to follow. But there were times… times when he did enjoy his sarcasm, aloofness and overall smarminess. The last true time had been when Judy had confronted him after the pawpsicle hustle. In that case, he had played with her and slowly watched her recoil as the true reality of the world had dawned on her. When he wasn't doing this façade as part of the deal; when he was in power (or at least no real risk of danger) and when he got to tackle someone who deserved it… Nick truly enjoyed his old personality. Back then, Judy had only mildly annoyed him so he opened her eyes to the painful truth. This time, however, he had the intention of causing actual pain and doing it to someone who deserved every last drop.

.

The interrogation cell was bare bones, weren't they all, and the sickly fluorescent light gave the walls a tone similar to tobacco. Had he been with some police officer back in the old days, he would have made a snide comment about replacing the light with a modern LED system or something, however there were no authority figures here to annoy. Instead, it was him (handcuffed to a chair) and his lawyer and Millie and her lawyer. Truth be told, he hadn't seen Millie up close since that fateful night. He looked over to his lawyer, dressed and acting in a completely inconspicuous manner, who began the meeting.

"I'd like to thank you for meeting with us today. I'd like to remind all of us that this meeting is purely confidential and no information discussed can be used as evidence in a court of law." He paused slightly, looking over at Millie for a bit before resuming.

"As you know, I have one more witness to introduce today. What you may not know is that this witness gives my client a rock solid alibi which, at the very least, ruins your timeline of events."

Nick watched as the eyes of Millie's Lawyer opened a bit, evidently realising how bad the case was, and turn towards Millie who had kept her stone bored look throughout. Whatever he was about to say, however, was quickly overruled by Nicks lawyer.

"Your case was toast before and is toast now. Your only evidence is based on the testimony of the accuser and, even without this, it wouldn't meet the requirements for a legal conviction. On the other hand, evidence that you slandered my client, lied to a court, wasted police time and tried to pervert the course of justice would. Hence, I strongly suggest you drop your charges now in return for my client agreeing to withhold from any legal action post case."

"NO," came the reply from Millie, stone faced and monotone. Her lawyer, on the other hand, pulled himself to her ear.

"He's entirely right," he whispered, "let it go now and cut your losses."

"NO," she said again, louder and angrier while still avoiding eye contact with the lawyer. Her eyes were instead focussed on the smug, half lidded pupils of Nick.

"At my client's insistence, I will not be dropp…."

"How about I talk with Prongs?..."

The room was silent after Nick's loud interjection had cut through the previously sparing voices.

"Alone, me and her, I can assure you I won't lay a paw on her," he smirked as he yanked his hand on the end of its cuff.

"OK…" Millie said, her voice still unchanging, "alone".

.

"So what's with 'Prongs' Fox?"

"Nickname, you should be honoured."

"My horns are…"

"Easily the best feature on your face by a longshot, utterly magnificent."

She paused for a bit, thinking, before her face scowled with anger. "How dare you profile me on my looks…" she growled out, as if she was preparing to lunge.

"OK, don't like being called out about your best feature? What about your worst… your personality is pretty grating… Gelding is the perfect fit!"

"SHUT YOU MANGY TRAP!" she screamed, her furious voice filling the room. She stood up, aiming to repair her dignity by asserting a height difference along with the associated dominance. Nick however knew that she had already lost by this point, this was going to be a riot.

"I'll go back to Prongs then, now tell me. Why did you accuse me Prongs?"

She paused a bit, and sat down into her chair smirking. "I was angry at the time, I don't deny it. The star officer of the ZPD endorsing such filth. Threatening me. Insulting every woman and girl who's known the horror of a muzzle!" The last clause was screamed out as she got herself worked up. Nick merely lifted an eyelid in feigned interest and smirked, driving her further out.

"You ruined my fact finding mission, triggered me. Then you went off to defend a muzzler…"

"Apparently you called him collateral damage?"

"In truth, anyone distracting us from the true fight is just as guilty. So little is given to victims and then him and you barge in and try to peel away what little there is!"

"And what, perchance, if we are victims ourselves? May I remind you what family of animals those things were originally made for?"

"Women who men thought were above their station."

"Canines the world, fairly or unfairly, thought were dangerous."

She paused for a bit. Nick could see that her internal logical had tied itself into a Gordian knot and now he was here to cut it in two. Time for the character assassination.

.

"How are the parents?"

"What… are you threatening me?" she said, confused by the change in topic.

"Oh no… no… You see, I can tell that you are the kind of person that is loved by both of your parents. A bit too much, I might add. They probably doted on you a bit too much here and there but overall, they would get a solid A on performance. I mean, your parents got you through 18 years without any tough life issues or real heartache. You grew up being shaped by the things you read and learned rather than by the things that happened to you. Of course, growing older you realised you had a passion in you, a fight. Something that needed the strength and skill that only you could deploy. You probably went through a girly phase, maybe a bit of bullying. You then decided that life was judging you based on who you were born as. Not a nice feeling, although personally I had a far rougher landing. So, you picked your army and you pledged undying loyalty and, over time you rose to its top. Well done, great achievement!"

Millie stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape. Nick could see that he had touched her deep down, like back when he gave Judy 'the facts of life'. To be honest, Nick knew her type and many of them were nice people. But many others picked the wrong thing to fight for, became overzealous or both. Nicks smirk grew as he rested his head on his arms (his shoulders resting on the table) and he stared into the confused eyes.

"Now trust me, I don't have anything against your cause when you boil it down to basics. From first-hand experience I can tell you that muzzling is horrifying, don't get me wrong. It's just I don't like you Prongs! You see, when you try to ruin people's lives or you say that you're triggered... Well, I can give you many stories of what being muzzled and triggered is actually like and trust me Prongs, they aren't something for a special little snowflake like you."

"Do you know what I hate about you?" Millie said, trying to sound as disinterested as possible, "nothing."

Nick pulled back slightly, this was not a question or reply he had expected.

"I made a mistake in accusing you. An unfortunate mistake that occurred after you deeply rattled me. To be honest, I am proud of your achievements, including making all those people believe these sop stories. I wasn't muzzled on that night or any night of my life but I've seen the damage it can cause."

"I've seen and I know," Nick replied, his voice tinged with bitterness.

Millie paused, and continued as if Nick hadn't said a word. "There's no personal reasons for what I'm doing to you. It's just I've done so much so far and could do so much more. Admitting that I lied… how much damage do you think that would mean for the cause. I can't turn back so I'll keep on going for the good of the victims. If you were honest about being concerned with muzzling, you'd take one for the team and confess. This case could push justice, awareness and action so much further ahead." The last bit came out in a happy tone and a sickly smile on her lips.

"You know what Prongs… Brilliant! I love it! You get TV interviews and special backdoor access to gazelle while I spend twenty something years in jail, loose a career and girl I love and become a social pariah! I've been an utter fool this whole time!" Nick settled down, grinning after his military grade sarcasm barrage. What was funnier was that the smile on Millie's face seemed to suggest that she believed he had been sincere. It didn't take that long, however, for her to catch on.

"Well Mr Wilde… I can't see anything more that will change your mind. A corrupt court protecting the establishment will be a nice narrative, however. See you in the witness stand soon."

She walked out of the room leaving Nick alone. A short while later, his lawyer and a guard came in.

"Learn anything?" he said, interested.

"Very interesting personality. I'd bet squirrels would love her."


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors notes:** potentially spoilery, at base of page as a result.

- **Judy** -

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Judy drove to the courts with a pit in her stomach. She was nervous this morning and had lost her appetite, a cold bowl of slowly congealing porridge oats bearing testament to that fact. She told herself time and time again that the court system was good, that Nick would be let go soon. But on her way to the courts every little sign and instinct seemed to tell her otherwise. The sky was overcast and slightly moist but unready to actually rain. The streets seemed quieter as she drove through them while strangers seemed to glance at her in odd ways. Every time she tried to calm herself down, she merely wound herself up again with another errant thought and, considering it was early in the morning and she was without coffee, this was most definitely a bad sign.

Her parents had called in the evening after she had got home. While usual pleasantries had been exchanged, there was still trepidation in the air. Stu at least had been neutral on the matter, saying that it was her choice who to trust and who to support. Bonnie, on the other hand, had sincerely reassured her that she didn't have to stand in solidarity with Nick simply because he was a police officer. The cheek, the utter vile cheek of thinking that she was supporting Nick because the other officers wanted her to… Judy merely shuddered and switched to an easy listening station as she parked outside and walked in.

Outside, once more, stood the protesters. The chants were in the air and the placards waved about but Judy tried to seal them off as she climbed the steps.

"Miss Hopp's?" came a quivering voice.

Judy refocussed and saw a wallaby, about twelve years old. She was dressed in blue clothing and had something in her hand. Pushing it forward, Judy saw that it was a police cadets badge. Not an official brass badge like the real thing but, instead, one made of tin and electroplated. There had never been any cadets in bunny-burrow so Judy couldn't join, but in the big city many schools had groups which would meet together once a week in order to help out neighbourhood watches and perform community service.

"Hello there…" Judy said, relieved a bit to be transported to a time before all this mess.

"I'd just… like to say…" the girl said, tears building up in her eyes. Judy paused, unsure of how to comfort her, but she finished the sentence before she could decide.

"You were once… my hero." With that, the girl pushed the little badge into Judy's hand and left, crying. Judy looked up in silence as she hopped back to what looked like an elder sibling in the crowd. The older brother or sister looked up while comforting the Joey and made eye contact with Judy before shaking their head with disappointment and betrayal etched onto their face. Judy turned down to look at the badge before silently continuing up the steps. For once, her mind was clear and empty that morning.

.

"Court is in session," announced the Judge who had climbed back to the top of his desk. "I believe the defence has one more witness it would like to call before we can begin cross examination."

"We do indeed sir," replied the defence lawyer, in a mildly cocky and overconfident tone.

Out of a back door came a middle aged meerkat wearing a set of casual clothes (which Judy quickly assumed was his best set.) After being sworn in, Nicks Lawyer (or Mr Wessling, as she now knew him by) began asking the questions.

"On the alleged night of the attack, did you or did you not serve food to two people in this room?"

"I did, I served Nick here and that guy over there" (he said, pointing at Manny), "Are you all okay with me pointing? I'm not quite sure to act here." The meerkat spoke in a relaxed, carefree tone with his words drawn out as if he were on holiday or something.

"Rest assured, you're doing fine sir."

"Oh, don't call me sir… I'm far too laid back to be a sir. Just call me pal or something."

The people in the court house snickered a bit as the judge politely asked the witness to stick to the standard formalities. The Meerkat straightened up and readjusted his collar, evidently adjusting himself to the tone of the room. In this time, a roll down board had been drawn out in sight of both the Jury and audience. With a flickering light, a picture of three similar (but not identical) pieces of crumpled paper were projected onto screen while Nicks lawyer looked back up to the witness.

"Could you confirm that these receipts are from your business?"

"Yes indeed, all three of them."

"Members of the Jury, while I believe I have already done enough to show my client wouldn't have committed this crime, I have evidence here that he couldn't have committed it. While the leftmost receipt is a random sample from this witness's café, the other two are taken from Mr Wilde's and Mr Guazu's wallets and they clearly show that these two were twenty minutes away from the site of attack when it was meant to occur."

There was a gasp in the audience as the pictures of the receipts zoomed in to show the dates and times highlighted. Millie and her lawyer remained cold faced and silent while, to Judy's left, the Wilde's smiled and relaxed somewhat. She even heard Finnick, who was in attendance nearby, snigger "They hustled them… they hustled em good!".

'That he did', smiling Judy thought back as the lawyer continued.

"This is a police verified, rock solid Alibi. Either the prosecution got their timeline completely wrong or this attack never occurred at all. Whatever it is, this evidence removes any legal possibility of conviction unless new incriminating evidence can be provided. I rest my case."

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- **Nick** -

.

.

He had been told that cross-examination was a brutal affair in which the integrity of all those called was put to the test. Truth be told, however, the integrity of their side was tough to beat. Bogo was the distinguished chief of police, Judy the hero of the city and Manny the meek student. While the last witness could be cross examined, he was only really there to provide a simple witness statement and verify that some receipts came from his business. The previous day had already seen Nick himself cross examined and there was little more they could dig. Henceforth, it only came as a mild surprise that his accusers declined to cross examine anyone on their side (despite what looked like angry whispers from Millie to her lawyer). Nick turned to his lawyer who stood up and spoke.

"We would like to cross examine the doctor who was brought in yesterday."

"As is your wish," replied the Judge as he called in the doctor once more. The doctor quickly entered the courtroom in a dignified manner, holding his head high while his close trimmed white mane stuck out like a ridge behind his neck. The white horse doctor sat down and was sworn in before the questioning began.

"Yesterday you stated that a loop muzzle was used on Miss Kruger, correct?" began Nicks lawyer.

"That I did," replied the horse doctor, calm and collected.

"What evidence did you have to confirm this?"

"Partial bruising along Miss Kruger's snout."

"And anything on the back of the head or neck?" enquired the lawyer.

"No, nothing there. There is, however, the possibility that the head strap was loose and thus left no bruising."

"But surely, an attempt to remove the muzzle by a panicking mammal would result in such bruising?"

"That it would, but if little force was applied there would be no bruising."

"So if Millie was no struggling and was quite comfortable with the muzzle on, then no damage would be done?"

"Logically, yes."

"But wouldn't someone being muzzled fight back, panic…"

The lawyer was interrupted by boos and hisses coming from the crowd. Turning around, he saw that many of Millie's supporters were incised by the comment and angrily venting their fury. The sudden sound of the Judge's gavel quickly stopped the commotion and, with a subtle nod, the doctor began speaking.

"Not always, many victims are slowly coerced into the muzzle and left doubting of themselves throughout the experience. Others may be able to keep their nerves under control and slowly removed the device."

The lawyer, seeing that this line of questioning was failing, chose to abandon subtlety and go straight in.

"Would you say that the bruising on the accuser was definitely caused by a muzzle?"

"…. No. A muzzle would explain it but it isn't the only explanation."

"Any idea on an alternative explanation?"

"Off the top of my head, self-inflicting them by rubbing a rope on the snout comes to mind but I have nothing after that."

"Thank you, the is all".

.

The Judge stood up looked across the crowd. His figure looming across the courtroom, as much as a mouse could in any case, he spoke up once more and boomed to those beneath him. "With no further evidence or cross examination ready to take place, I invite the prosecution and defence to provide their closing statements before the Jury is dismissed."

.

"Members of the Jury," the prosecutor began, his voice seemingly tinged with both the sound of resignation to defeat and a hopeless pleading. "The unlawful, forced muzzling of mammals has been ignored as a scourge of society for too long. Investigation, prosecution and conviction levels for this crime are too low while a long line of traumatised and emotionally unstable victims have been left unable to find closure for years. In the midst of this, we have an unprovoked assault on a notable activist by a member of our very own police force. If we allow this kind of evil to exist in such a vital, trust based part of our society, what kind of society are we?"

Nick chewed his teeth slightly, slowly digesting the gritty irony and pain of what had just been said. Looking over, he saw that his own lawyer was ready to speak.

"Members of the Jury, many of you may have lingering concerns against my client. You may consider him sneaky, untrustworthy… dangerous even? But let us look at the larger picture here. He is accused of muzzling a woman, ten times his own weight and whose kicks could break his spine, at a party he had definitely left much earlier in the night. After a traumatic event earlier in his life, he has serious mental issues when handling muzzles and would surely be the last person to use them in anger. The only evidence we have that links him to this case is an unreliable testimony. We don't even have definitive proof that the muzzling even occurred! You were previously asked about what kind of society we live in. I say, we live in a good society that doesn't send innocent mammals to jail for crimes they didn't commit."

"Thank you," stated the Judge, his gravitas filled voice taking over the attention of the room. The moment of silence was quickly filled in as the judge continued. "I hereby dismiss the Jury so that they may discuss the facts of the trial and come to a verdict. The Jury shall have already been informed of the responsibilities and conduct that they must abide by. Court dismissed."

.

Behind the courtroom lay the holding cells and associated infrastructure. Nick was led through winding, featureless corridors that reeked of cheap antiseptic cleaner until he was filed into an empty room and locked inside. To say it was quiet was an understatement. Soon Nick was keeping his mind in check by listening to his breath as he inhaled and exhaled. Sometimes he would change the speed and the depth to add some diversity to the long day and sometimes he would try and forget it all and simply let his body take over the reins once more. He had no clock or watch and so there was no sense of how fast time was passing. Was he in there for one hour, three, five? The tension was far worse than any previous time he had been in a cell while a sense of dread was slowly filling his body. Ultimately, Nick tried to fall asleep and, after what seemed like an eternity, he drifted off. There were no dreams this time, no fear and pain. After he was arrested the muzzling nightmares had come back thick and fast in an intensity that Nick could never remember occurring before. For the week before the trial, every night had been restless as he ran and clawed at his face. Fortunately, however, the terrors only seemed to come in every other dream now and were at a level where Nick could shrug them off when he woke. When he woke up again, he fittingly felt like he was shrugging. However, an aggravated tone accompanied that shrug and Nick, turning his head and letting his eyes refocus, peered into the eyes of a guard who was jabbing him with a truncheon.

"It's time. The Jury has reached a verdict."

"How long did they take?" Nick asked, curious to find out how much of his life had slipped away since he last saw fellow kind.

"Three hours," came the stone cold reply.

Three hours… Nick dreaded to think how long a prison sentence would seem to take at this rate.

.

As he entered the courtroom, Nick looked into the benches and saw his colleagues, Chief Bogo among them. The police chief had his best poker face on but Nick could see his eyes dart around with concern. Beside Bogo sat Fangmeyer, Judy and Manny (with Finnick likely sitting hidden between them.) All looked nervous as he walked on. Clawhauser was missing, as he had been throughout the case. Knowing the cat, Nick guessed that he was still in conflict about whether to follow Gazelle (whom Nick had learned was supporting Millie) or his friends. Had it been anyone else then Nick would be angry, but Clawhauser was someone who no-one could truly hold a grudge against for long. By the central corridor Nick saw his family, the parents who had loved him and supported him and who he had supported in kind back during their hardest times. His two sisters, who he hadn't grown up with but who he loved none the less stood by them. They were all there and he could see that they were terrified, eyes open, fur on end and ears back, they made eye contact and all tried to smile but it was little reassurance. As Nick sat down at his chair, he saw the Jury enter and take their place. The pit of dread in his stomach was growing with every second and he now wished he was back in his cell.

"Has the Jury reached a verdict?" asked the judge.

"We have, your honour," replied the head juror.

Three hours, three hours to decide his fate? Was that long enough? Would he loose his life after these people spent just three hours discussing him?

"Do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?"

Nick closed his eyes and buckled down. His breathing and heart rate increased as he awaited his fate. He was still a fox wasn't he? Nothing had changed and he would never be trusted. How long would he be sent away for? Twenty years, thirty, the rest of his life? He had heard stories, would angry guards and inmates muzzle him in there for much of that time? Nicks head filled with dread. He felt the iron grip of the muzzle once more, biting into his mouth and face and squeezing in. He felt the cold pain and burn, he felt terror as if he was stuck on railway tracks in front of an oncoming train, he felt…

"Not guilty."

He felt free…

 **Authors notes:** Down here as I didn't want to spoil that this was the end of this arc. I admit, I've never done courtroom stories before and, while interesting to write, I'll probably stray from doing another one for a while and if I do do one, it will be the focus of the story (so that character building and pacing can be better executed).

Good news. I'm probably more than halfway through writing the final arc, although what is written likely needs a fair bit of polish. There have been a few comments, and I plan to answer them and any extra's in the next post (which will probably be on sunday).


	15. Chapter 15

**Authors notes:** First part of the new arc. One review mentioned how Millie's confession could be used as evidence. In reality, it could be but I used the idea of an 'amnesty meeting' so you could at least learn why Millie was acting that way rather than it just being so. In reality, I don't know much more than the basics about legal cases so I took some artistic liberty. My original draft for the courtroom arc was only about 4,000 pages and it did show Millie get her comeuppance. However, I decided that it was too rushed and unsatisfying so I built it out. More info and stuff will of course be revealed in this and following chapters.

.

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- **Judy** -

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.

The message had told Judy to turn up at Nick's garden at midday. Knowing that neither he, nor his parents, had a garden she knew exactly where to meet up with him. When the verdict had been given, the courtroom had erupted into a cacophony of sounds. The boos of anger from those who supported Millie, the cries of support from Nicks friends and family, the loud bang of the gavel as the judge attempted to bring order to the room. Most of all, Judy remembered the quiet weeps of joy coming from the front of the room. The next few hours had been a blur as Nick declined to give a speech and instead went to stay with his family. Bogo had given both of them a week off in order to recuperate from the ordeal that they had been through and Judy gave Nick plenty of room to do so as he saw fit. Apart from a few phone calls, she hadn't seen Nick for almost the entire period. Now, on the last day of leave, he had called her to come back to the place where they had made up 12 months ago.

.

The sky was dappled with high, wispy clouds as Judy walked up to the old stone bridge. The area wasn't a formal park, instead being a plot of land that never got around to having a factory built over it. As a result, the grass was thick and bushy while small thin trees tried to grow here and there. Peering over the edge of the bridge, Judy saw Nick relaxing on a deckchair with his jet black aviators resting on his head. His head perked up a bit and a small smile grew across his face.

"I was getting worried you weren't coming Carrots."

Judy stayed quiet, merely smiling, as she walked down the bank to Nick. By the time she got there, he had pulled out a spare deckchair and even laid out a towel for her to sit on. Gladly accepting, Judy relaxed on the bench and began soaking up the warmth of the sun. Looking to her right, she could see that recent rain had produced a trickle of water flowing in the streambed while the previously hard earth around it had turned to soft mud. She also noticed a large, battered chest hidden away in an alcove with its lid open.

"Is there any reason why you like hanging out here?" Judy asked, curious at why Nick was sentimental about this area.

"Well, back after the accident and the scouts… our family had been burning through our savings. I still got a small bit of money when I was doing chores but, when I was twelve, my mother stopped giving it to me."

"So, you ran away because you weren't getting any pocket money?" Judy teased.

Nick, after muted guffaw and a quick smile, spoke again, "sort of. By this point, what with the incident and how other pupils and teachers treated me… both on purpose and not on purpose… I'd given up on trying to prove myself good. I didn't do anything bad or nasty but I saw no point in trying to prove I was trustworthy if no one would trust me anyway. But the two people… the two people in the world who I thought would always trust me were my parents. And when I stopped getting the allowance, I thought it was because they didn't trust me anymore. I felt betrayed… so I ran."

"And you found this place," Judy said, saddened slightly by the story.

"I did, I found this shelter in the pitch black of night and hunkered down. When I woke, my mum was there having followed my scent trail. She wasn't angry, she just wanted to ask why I ran and then I told her. She explained how bad our situation was and how close we were to losing the store and house. She then began crying… I promised that I would look after her and, walking out of here and seeing it for the first time in the light of day, I realised it was beautiful."

"So, this is the birth place of slick Nick the con-fox, is it?" Judy said, teasing Nick some more, "What was your first hustle?"

Nick looked over at Judy and smiled, "So you want to hear about the great chocolate smuggle then?"

"That I do," Judy replied as she tried to lull the story out of him.

"Our school got into this healthy eating stuff that was going on in the day and got rid of its vending machines. They also banned us from bringing in any sweets or stuff. So, after a bit of market research with the prominent wobble bottoms around and about, I began smuggling in chocolate, biscuits, sweets and fizzy drink cans. I would use my saved up money to buy a big jumbo pack of whatever was in demand, hide it in the bushes behind the sports hall in the evening and then sell it for double in the morning. It was the Pawpsicle hustle of the day!"

Judy turned, resting her head on her arm, as she gazed at Nick. "You know they used to clip back the claws of smugglers in the old days, don't you?" She said, with a large dose of sass in her voice.

"Good thing it's not the old days, good thing I never got caught. I did lose out on all my break periods however so I don't think It would of mattered that much anyhow."

"What did you do after you left school?"

"I left at 18… my hands were far too clumsy and needle averse to follow my dad despite our best efforts…I flunked one of my exams so didn't get into a Uni. Fortunately, one of my biggest clients was Morris, son of Kozlov."

"Kozlov?"

"The Mr Big-mobile."

"Anyway, he put a word in and I became of third party supplier of honest goods to Mr B for the next ten years until…"

"Until the SBR?" Judy interrupted, sassily teasing Nick about his worst ever business deal.

"…Yup. Though it wasn't my fault. I asked my sister to buy the real thing and she tried to hustle me. Of course, being a dumb Fox, I took the blame rather than explaining everything… you saw how that almost went."

"I remember," Judy said, thinking back to how terrified Nick had been when brought before the shrew of doom last year.

"After that, I went full time with Finnick and we had a roster of hustles we would do together. All day rodent parking, the smalley big, the rice of paw, the Elle-con to rose fertiliser to name a few… the pawpsicle hustle being the Pierre de resistance of course." Nick turned over so that he was facing Judy, he removed his specs and their eyes met for a second.

Judy looked on at Nick as his eyes turned away, a slight grin growing on her. "I like this new you. So out of character compared to the old, bottle it up smug grin Fox I met a long time ago… I demand you tell me all the other tit bits of your family history and personal life…"

Nick laughed, and turned so he was lying on his back once more and shot Judy a sly grin, "Nick Wilde does not do blatant fan service."

"But I want it so… so… badly…," Judy replied, pulling out each word as far as the syllables could stretch.

"So you're my biggest fan?"

Judies smile quickly changed to an inquisitive scowl, "You have the carrot pen, don't you?" she said, deadpan and serious.

"Do I have the carrot pen?..."

"Yes, Yes I/You do," they said in unison before laughing. The humour quickly subsided as Nick stood up and walked towards the chest.

"I do have one special thing," he said, lifting a large wicker basket out of the chest, "for my biggest fan." He set down the basket and opened the lid revealing several plates and numerous old butter tubs filled with food. "I wanted today to be special, so I prepared this… a fair bit of it is leftovers after we pushed the boat out a bit… and Mum did help with the desert as well."

The two feasted on homemade coleslaw with potatoes, sautéed with dill and garlic, and sweetcorn on the side. Moving on, the two had bakery rolls with small pots of honey, butter, cream, fruit jams and grass humus (which Judy thought was OK and Nick avoided like the mange). Carrying on, Judy had some homemade caramelised carrots while Nick had satay meal worms while both of them indulged in cold supermarket noodles in a sweet and sour sauce. The two drank blackberry cordial as they moved on to prawn cocktail and aubergines in a coronation sauce. Finally, Nick pulled out two small blueberry pies which they ate in unison. After a long pause, Nick broke the silence with two sincere and solemn words said quietly but firmly.

"Thank you…"

"For what?" Judy asked, curious and drowsy from the quantity of food she had just consumed.

"For what, you ask," Nick chuckled, "Dumb bunny… For being there for my through thick and thin… For trusting me despite the media circus… for being my light in the darkness."

Judy paused, struck at what she had just heard, "I was just doing what friends do…"

"In that case then, thank you… for being a friend… Want to come back to my place?"

"Yeh," Judy said, snapping back into reality after a quick pause, "might even stay the night."

"Easy there, Bunny…"

.

Judy woke early in the morning to the sound of a soft whimpering. At first, it sounded like a young kit was begging for a sweet but, as she turned her head, she was that it was Nick. His head tossed and turned on the pillow as he pulled his limbs and tail tightly together in a foetal position. Judy knew what was racing through his mind, his emails and calls told her that its frequency was still very high after his traumatic arrest, but she knew how to comfort him. She climbed over and, with her paws, she gently stroked the fur on his muzzle. Her small claws began gently digging into the fur and, as they pressed onto his skin, she pulled them back away from his nose and down towards his face. An occasional hand would divert in order to stroke up the top or sides of his head while she gently whispered into his ear. She had thought of using old rabbit lullabies at first but, remembering how many of them involved saying that the evil nasty Fox had gone/been jailed/turned into a rug, she had chosen simple words of reassurance. Slowly, Nicks breathing subsided as he calmed down once more.

.

The morning light shafted through the shallow windows as Judy lit the stove and began making some pancakes. Nick's alarm tended to go off at 6:30 so that he could get to the precinct by 8 and today he would be going there after enjoying some breakfast in bed. They had restocked the fridge the night before so Judy was able to open and pour out two glasses of ice cold orange juice for both of them. They hadn't intended to share Nick's bed last night but Judy had slowly nudged him into accepting the proposition just like how she, a year ago, had nudged him into sleeping in an actual bed rather than a repurposed cabinet draw. They hadn't gone any further than that, though, and truth be told Judy was happy that way. The whole horrible incident that had taken over her last fortnight meant that Judy's parents were completely set against anything but a strictly professional relationship. As Judy cracked the eggs and began frying them with some deluxe seaweed, she sighed as she remembered how both her mum and dad had said that there was no smoke without fire. Judy resolved that she would go slow with Nick, and if her parents still couldn't keep up, that was their problem.

.

"Sweet dreams, sleepy head?" Judy asked quietly.

"No," Nick replied, flatly. "I could tell you knew it was happening again… and thanks for breakfast fluff."

Judy smiled and placed the tray on the bed as she snuggled up to Nick, "How did you know?"

"You were there," Nick replied, causing Judy to gag on her orange juice.

"I was, what did I do?"

"Well, don't get all lordly or preachy about this…"

"I won't."

"Unlike most of the other dreams, this time I was reliving the event… as in I had no idea what was going on at the start. I was still wide eyed and excited… of course, things went bad…" he paused, sighing, " **IT** , happened. I was running out and couldn't get the thing off and then, you were there."

"I was?"

"Yes, but not you, you… young you. From that picture from the play you showed me."

"How cute did you imagine me," Judy said in a deadpan, serious voice (like a teacher asking a student how many sweets he had stolen).

Nick paused, before enthusiastically reply, "Ludicrously… you were in your little police uniform and everything… and you were there, standing in front of me and you came over and you took the thing off. You comforted me, hugged me and dried my tears and then we marched back inside."

"I think I like where this is going," Judy smugly butted in.

"You will, if you let me finish," Nick said, "We went in and the boys were all there sniggering. They looked up and asked what a dumb bunny and a double dumb fox were doing in here. You said, 'you broke the law and really hurt my friend, say sorry and let him join you or you'll be sorry!' The beaver said, 'Sorry about what? Policemen muzzle foxes for a Job, look at him, you can't trust him without one! If you're a real policewoman, get that muzzle and stick it back on him like we did!' You of course said, 'No, do as I say or I tell!' they said it was your word against ours and…"

"Actually, it's your word against your word!" Judy interrupted, in her sassiest possible voice, before holding out her hand and motioning with her fingers. She made a bizarre set of sounds with her mouth, imitating a reversing recording, before holding her nose. "Get that muzzle and stick it back on him like we did," Judy said in a high pitch tone. At this point Nick, who had been holding back his giggles ever since Judy had taken over, broke into a laugh and almost sent the breakfast flying.

"Well done carrots," he said, still giggling, "you can read minds. Let's get this stuff down our mouths before we're late on our first day back."

.

Arriving at the precinct with fifteen minutes to spare, Nick and Judy wandered in to the atrium and were quickly ambushed by the bulk of the force. A huge welcome back banner had been slung up above the entrance while various officers came laden with gifts and treats. Nick, of course, tried to shrug it off at first but was ultimately overwhelmed as some of his close squad mates turned up in order to give him his personal welcome. For Judy, it was bliss seeing Nick welcomed back into the fold and for him to be enjoying it so much. Ultimately, however, time was short and Bogo was soon calling down and ordering everyone to return to work. Judy and Nick complied and they were soon in the bullpen where the playful welcomes continued, to the point that Bogo had to add several extra quiet downs in order to state his briefing.

"Alright, alright, first off the big news story. Officer Wilde, welcome back."

Once more, the room filled with hollers and shouts which took a fair amount of time to quiet down.

"I don't deny that what you have gone through is very tough and, in the interest of everyone, let's never talk about it again. Secondly, the latest missing mammal case has run bone dry for the last two weeks, good news is that no-one new has been taken. Bad news, we have no leads on where these mammals are. As you can see, they are predominantly large, male, aggressive looking mammals who are primarily predators but also prey. From the work officer Wilde has done so far, we believe that those kidnapped are being drugged and muzzled, as always please read up on the case in the files as you exit. As for now, continue normal duties while also looking for evidence. Dismissed."


	16. Chapter 16

**Authors notes:** On looking back at my story, I've updated my foreword on chapter 1. Just an FYI.

- **Nick** -

.

Riding shotgun with Judy, Nick was slowly relaxing as life returned to normal. Their patrol route would take them through the rainforest and canal district. Nick closed the car windows as the soft patter of rain began in earnest and soon the torrent was restricting their visibility. Judy, who hadn't driven in such conditions for a while, slowed down while Nick fumbled for the radio. Finding a talk and music radio show, Nick relaxed somewhat as he let the outdoor scenery roll by. Looking up, he spotted the sky tram lines as they past Vine and Tujunga and, as they turned off the main road, Nick spotted Go-Go's Café up in the canopy.

"Want to pop in?" Judy asked, obviously knowing where they were passing.

"No thanks, I want this to be a slow and relaxing day but not thaaat slow."

Judy chuckled, remembering the last time she had had their speciality drink. This however, was interrupted as Clawhauser came in on the radio: "Hopps, Wilde, we have some reports of a 314 in Ketuni, are you able to proceed."

"Affirmative big C," replied Nick, "going in casually." Nick looked over and saw Judy blushing, "What? No one is in serious threat. We'll go in casual; our perp is probably _very_ casual." As he said that a giant grin emerged across Nicks face while Judy squirmed into her seat with embarrassment.

"Just when I thought I was missing Nicky Wilde," Judy said, trying to regain some composure. A smile slowly crawled across her face and she stood up, "can't be as bad as mystic springs can it?"

.

Fortunately, it wasn't. As they turned up to an address that Clawhauser had filed through, they saw a rather embarrassed looking Tapir trying to cover himself up in a corner of his front garden.

"Just… just let me explain," the naked mammal said.

"We're all ears," Judy said as she took up a position that preserved some of the Tapirs dignity.

"Some more than others," commented Nick, his eyes darting over to Judy as he took up a position that didn't preserve some of the Tapirs dignity.

"There's… there's this annoying Kid who keeps on pranking me. This time, I was in the bath and heard a knock on the door. I got out and wrapped a towel around me before coming down. Opening the door, I saw it was him and, before I could act, he pulled me out of the house and stole my towel. The door shut on the latch before I could get back in."

Nick, who had been uncomfortably looking into the Tapirs eyes now looked away and smiled, "you seem good enough. Your bathroom window is open, mind if one of us goes in to open up the door."

"No, no, not at all", stammered out the mammal, evidently desperate for this humiliating situation to end.

"Officer Hopp's, permission to give you a boost up?" Nick said, as he bent down and cupped his hands,

"Permission granted," smirked Judy as she planted her feet on his palms and he threw her up. Leaping at the same time, the partners' strength combined gave Judy enough momentum to launch her up to the window. Grasping hold of its base, she swung underneath it and into the opening before she vanished into the building. There was a dull series of thuds as Judy bounced down the stairs and opened the door. The Tapir immediately ran into his house and quickly went upstairs in order to change into some new clothes. Nick, casually walking into the doorway, smiled at Judy and shouted up. "If he's been such a bother before, why didn't you call the police?"

"I've thought about it, but before this it has just been minor annoyances."

"What about contacting his parents?"

"I tried, they're two massive Indian elephants that live down at number 64. They won't take me seriously".

"As officers of the law, we could talk to him. If it continues after that, get a security camera to gather some evidence and then come to the police."

"… that… that would be great, thanks officers."

"All in a day's work," Nick said, giving a mock salute and leaving the house with Judy.

.

"Feeling back in the policing mood now Nick?" Judy asked, as they drove down the road and found a suitable place to park.

"That I do," replied Nick as he undid his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. Checking the address, he and Judy walked up and rang the doorbell. The rhythmic rumbling of the earth was evidence enough that someone was coming and soon the doorway opened and was immediately filled by a large female evident.

"What do you want?" she asked, her thick accent giving her voice an aggressive tone.

Nick smiled and began, "Officer Wilde, ZPD, we're…"

"I know who you are!" she shouted as she slammed the door shut. Nick, taken aback, looked at Judy for a second.

"You're not going to let her talk over you, are you?" Judy whispered, evidently angered by what had just transpired. Agreeing with her, Nick turned his head forward and pressed the doorbell again.

"I said go away, Scum!"

Nick, his face scowling, opened up the letter box and shouted in, "Maam, I am an officer of the ZPD, we have reason to believe your son has been harassing a certain individual. If we could just talk…"

Nick was met with a jet of water that sprayed out of the letter box and pushed him back. Stumbling backwards, half blinded by the force of the water, he tripped and hit his head on the concrete path with a thud. Judy ran over and check whether he was OK, which he thankfully was, but as they got up the resident of the house made it clear that she still had a bone to pick.

"If the ZPD was worth its salt, scum like you would be in Jail. GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Judy, angered by the lady's disrespect, marched over ready to give her her own peace of mind. Nick, however grabbed Judy's shoulder and spun her around.

"Carrots, pick your fights and never let them see… she's not worth the effort."

"She assaulted an officer, she insulted you! She's…"

"Not worth it," Nick said, sighing as he got up onto his feet and tried to pat down the dust and soil off his wet uniform. "There's a nice café around here I used to go to a decade or so ago, let's catch a break there."

.

The Café in question was on the edge of the canal district and was frequented by numerous otters, seals and other water loving mammals. Much of the building was cheap and tatty, with basic metal chairs and tables crowded onto a grubby linoleum floor that had seen better days. The smell of frying fish, along with salt and vinegar, filled Judy's nose as she entered and she looked up at Nick.

"You said this place was nice?" she asked, quite annoyed.

"It was… seems to of gone downhill a bit. I also forgot that you wouldn't like fried seafood, however they did do a decent seaweed salad and some nice deserts."

Judy looked up at Nick and merely shrugged, "Dumb Fox."

"Sly Bunny," he grinned back as they took a seat and picked up a menu. A large, overbearing Sea-lion waiter came over and asked for their order.

"Seaweed salad please," Judy asked, "along with some coffee."

"Fried sprats with tartar sauce," Nick added, "with coffee and two blueberry jam donuts please."

The sea-lion waddled off as Nick sat down and began scrolling through his phone. "You know that jerk who leaked that I had been accused on live TV?"

Judy looked up and paused, before thinking back, "I think so, yes."

"He wrote to me asking about terms of an apology, I guess he isn't so much of one after all."

Judy smiled, "what malicious actions of penance do you have planned?"

"Well," Nick began, "I was thinking about an apology on his blog and his newspaper column, linked via a twitter link…"

"Which paper does he write for again," Judy asked, being one who didn't read papers anymore.

"The Zootopian Sentinal… I think. He's also said he would make a hefty donation to a charity of my choice, I chose one that offers mentoring and psychiatric help to children and youths."

"Aaawww," Judy cooed, "I didn't know you were the civilised, caring type."

"He will, of course, also have to walk around Savannah central naked for one day while escorted by someone playing an appropriate tune of shame…"

Judy giggled a bit, before jokingly asking back "If that's your plan for him… what about Millie?"

Nicks grin shrunk somewhat, "still hate my guts, still think I should be behind bars… I think an apology and appropriate punishment are the last of my worries. In any case, I want to put her far, far behind me."

"And Gazelle?"

Nick sighed, "Nice girl, just picked the wrong posterchild to believe in… although hearing her talk about how I escaped justice is getting… annoying, to say the least. I wonder if those two are having a consoling conversation in a café right now?"

"Talking about how it's nice that the stress of the trial is over."

Nick flicked a small smile, and replied back, "discussing how good it is to finally get back into their careers."

"Apologising about how much the café has come down in the decade since they last visited."

"Penning new lyrics to a hit that not so subtly bemoans the lack of mob law," Nick finished, sighing slightly as he said it. His eyelids, ears, tail and spine drooped as he looked down.

Judy, collecting herself, leaned over and touched one of his paws with her hand "don't worry about them. You're innocent and they can't hurt you anymore. Besides, if the dead rise and attack… we know whose Vinyl's will be the first to be used to destroy the heads or brains."

"Please carrots," Nick said as he perked up at the reference and relaxed into his chair, "who buys Vinyls anymore."

The two sat up as the waiter arrived back with their drinks. He placed down Judy's cup first but as he turned he bumped the table and lurched forward. Nicks coffee flew off the tray and the scalding contents was flung into the air as the bottom of the cup hit the tray lip. The boiling fluid splashed straight into Nicks front, ruining his still damp shirt and causing him to scream in agony as he vainly tried to wipe it away from his eyes and off his face.

"Sorry Officer Wilde," the waiter said loudly with a hint of condescension in his voice, "use these napkins to clean yourself off while I get a new coffee for you."

The seal wandered off as Judy tended to Nick, trying to dry off his fur and thus remove the hot liquid. Judy noticed the general cacophony of the establishment return to normal, and then realised that this meant the event had silenced the room. Listening around, she also realised that this new murmur was of a far quieter tone, angrier…

"He did that on purpose" she whispered to Nick.

"Carrots, it was an accident. These things happen. Just let me relax and enjoy lunch."

They tried to, after Nicks new (and rather bland) coffee along with their food arrived. But as Nick looked around, he began to notice the stares and the hushed voices. Many of them were angry, others scared, but Nick buried them as he continued working. It worked for a bit, but as the two polished off their food, Nick felt something hit the back of his head. It was a wet, moist, spit ball likely fired by some punk kid. Nick would have thrown it away but he noticed that it was one single piece of paper with writing on it rather than the traditional mashed pulp. Opening the paper up, Nick saw that the words 'MONSTER' were written on it. Nick sighed, resolving to never let them see, and slipped it into his pocket as their deserts arrived. Tucking in to the baked treat, Nick leaned back to savour the tart taste of the jam in his mouth. However, one of his ears picked up a conversation being uttered in the corner.

"…traitor to his own kind. To think he's here when he should be muzzled up in the Zoo."

"I know. How much pressure do you think the establishment put in to protect their token gesture even when they realised he was rotten to the core…"

Nick closed his eyes, sighed, and repeated his mantra once more.

.

After placing down a note to pay for the food and to give a (very, very small) tip, the two cops stood up to leave the Café. There was a noticeable reduction in volume as they left and Nick, glancing about, saw large numbers of eyes trained directly at him. He was upset that he wouldn't be returning to the place, poor service and customers contributing equally. However, despite this and the bitter aftertaste that had been left in his mouth, Nick vowed to soldier on. The rest of the afternoon was spent patrolling the streets and generally looking out for any mischief. It was a quiet day but Nick was happy with that, particularly after the events that occurred earlier. Idly flicking through the radio, they settled down while occasionally checking the time. After a few hours of quiet driving and nothing interesting occurring they began a slow drive back to the precinct for the end of their shift.

"Calling all available officers," the radio spurted to life as Clawhauser called in, "we have an unscheduled protest assembling outside the ZPD. Could all available Officers come in just to keep an eye on it all?"

"Affirmative, on our way," replied Judy.

"Ummm, Hopps, Wilde, I advise you give this one a miss… Just stay patrolling where you are until we disperse them. You can then drop off your vehicle."

"Affirmative, Mr C." Judy sighed and looked at Nick, "I know today's been rough… as will tomorrow. But people will forget this in time. Just hang on in there. If it makes you feel better, I booked us in for that meal I owed you."

Nicks ears picked up, and he turned, smiling, towards Judy, "Thanks Carrots. Which establishment will I be humiliated in tonight?" he jokingly asked.

"Nick…" Judy said, drawing out the name like she was Flash. "It's a Berber restaurant down in Sahara square, I even read that both the head chef and owner are Fennec Foxes!"

Nick glanced and smirked, "pretty presumptuous, thinking that will win me over Fluff. For all you know, I either don't mind at all or am disappointed as they're not proper foxes."

"Proper Foxes?" Judy asked.

Nick looked over at Judy and smiled, chuckling slightly at her ignorance. He knew, of course, that Judy wouldn't know the advanced genetic details and demographics of each species but he'd have least hoped she'd known some basic facts. Then again, they'd had not one problem with a Fox of any kind in their six months working together so it made sense the she'd had few or no incidents with his species in the three months he was at the academy. "Do you want the short or long version?"

"Long version, please," Judy smiled back, curious at what Nick had to say.

"There are twelve species of true fox, of which red Foxes like yours truly make up 1/3rd of the total true fox population. That means there are 10,000 of my exact kind in the city. You also have ten species of 'false foxes', or Zorro's as six of them are officially called seeing as anyone sensible, who can get away from the F word, will do so. The false foxes are genetically different from us, like a Hare and a rabbit, and number about 20,000 in total. Half of the remaining true foxes are various types of primarily sandy and small foxes while the other half is split between the Fennecs and the Arctic's. 90% of the hate, however, goes to those of us blessed with the Red fur. I mean, when was the last time a Fox away advert showed a mischievous Corsac Fox trying to steal a grannies purse!"

"Wow… how do you know all this?"

"…year 10 Zoothropology project, I thought all mammals had to do it. Research your own species' family and present it to the class?"

"I remember… I think. But 90% of my class was made of bunnies so they just gave us a simple slideshow."

"And people wonder why bunnies are dumb," Nick said, grinning as he gently elbowed Judy in the ribs.

.

Nick remained silent for the rest of the patrol, peering out of the window as they drove around. After an hour and a half, they were given the all clear to return back to the precinct. Parking their car, they saw no indication that there had been an incident here before. It was a simple affair from then on, hand in the report they wrote for the 314 (which was fairly simple and had been done on the fly) before changing into civilian clothes. The two grabbed a train and began travelling back to Nicks place in order to get changed. While decked out in his new red Hawaiian shirt (or his new green one, he couldn't tell) and donning a pair of tan shorts, Nick looked quite different to the police officer that people had seen in the papers. Never the less, Nick couldn't help feeling uncomfortable as he and Judy sat down and waited to reach their station. He tried to tell himself that it was paranoia but his instincts were telling him that the carriage wasn't happy with him being here. He looked over at Judy and sighed, dead giveaway wasn't she. For the rest of the trip, Nick kept his head down in order to avoid the sharp eyed stares from coming his way.

.

"I'll call a Zuber to get us to the right station Nick" Judy cried, as they walked towards his basement flat. They were running slightly late and while Judy was ready to go out on their evening out he wasn't. He grabbed his key and opened the door, ready to hop inside and grab a suit. Walking in to the darkness, Nick sped towards the direction of his bedroom but his ear tips got caught against something cold. Nick paused and pulled his hand up, waving it about above his head until his backhand felt something cold and smooth. Nick stepped back, a lump growing in his throat as his night vision rendered what was above him. His breathing picked up as he fumbled for a light switch and, feeling the smooth plastic, he pushed it letting light fill the room….

"JUDY!"


	17. Chapter 17

.

- **Judy** -

.

Sitting down at their reserved table, Judy looked up at Nick as he meekly slumped into his chair. Fortunately, their place was fairly secluded from the rest of the restaurant so they had a modicum of privacy. Nick, however, still didn't seem like he was interested in food. She had just booked their lift when his piercing scream had grabbed her attention. Running inside, she'd seen him cowering in the corning, rapid breath slowly returning to normal, as he tried to forget what he'd seen. Judy had counted five muzzles, three of which were full blown police devices while two were simple cages, hung from the pipework that crisscrossed the roof. As if to hammer home his point, the vandaliser had scrawled graffiti across the room. Muzzle the muzzlers; go back to the zoo; muzzle the Fox; you won't escape MY justice… all the classic slogans were spread across entire house and daubed into the wallpaper with thick oil based paint. After leading the distraught Nick outside, she had called the ZPD to report the vandalism in order to get Nick out of any potential trouble with his landlord. While they waited, she'd retrieved Nicks suit and comforted him as the panic slowly subsided. After the policemen came and took their statements, before promising a quick report the next morning, their lift arrived and Judy encouraged Nick to carry on with the meal as they'd planned in order to take his mind off things.

.

It evidently wasn't working, as Nick was still glum and out of character. He'd meekly ordered the scorpion tagine (reportedly a Fennec speciality) and seemed content to sit in silence as the night slowly went on. As if to rub it in, the silence had spread to Judy as well. She sat, waiting while drinking fruit and mint tea, as the rainbow of lights in Sahara square came to life. A short distance away, the cacophony of the night market was at full volume as numerous vendors opened their food and shop stalls while beckoning to customers, enticing them to come in.

"Did you ever sell pawpsicles over there?" Judy asked, speaking quietly as she tried to break the ice.

"Fairly often," Nick replied without much care or attention.

"How's… how's Finnick doing? I met him at the trial but never got around to ask."

"He works as a DJ for hire, it puts food on the plate and pays car tax for the van," Nick said, with the attitude of a disinterested teenager being asked about life choices or something.

"Listen Nick, I know things have been rough but…"

"Rough…" Nick interrupted in a slightly aggressive voice, with the end of the word slurring into a muted laugh.

"I know…" Judy tried to say, in an attempt to calm him down.

"You don't know Judy," Nick said without any hint of playfulness in his voice. "I try and let things roll off my back, I tried to forget that trial even though it started with me going through three… four hours of pure unadulterated hell. I then spent two weeks locked up while the entire city slandered me, all the time worried that it would turn into two decades. Well, I'd have let it go. I want to. But these people won't! Whatever I do, however much evidence there is. To them I'll always be guilty."

Judy, her eyes open at Nicks sudden anger, moved in to stroke his muzzle. The first stroke made Nick scowl a bit more but, as she continued, he relaxed and slumped back down.

"I don't think I can carry on," Nick finally said, in a dejected tone.

Judy recoiled a bit, before jumping in, "Don't say that Nick. You have family and friends that love you, you have me. We'll be there for you for however long it takes."

Nick chuckled and looked up, "It's not _that_ bad Judy… Sheeesh. I'm talking about the Job."

Judy relaxed a bit and then twitched her eye as she processed his statement, "Nick… but you love being a policeman."

"I do," Nick replied, his voice picking up slightly. "Working with you, saving people, helping… I do love it, but…"

"But what," Judy asked.

"Half of the reason I love it is because people off the street, complete strangers even… they trust me. They trust me Judy, and as someone who couldn't earn trust from many people who I sold stuff fairly to for years… it truly means something. But now that's all gone."

"Nick, it will get better, trust me."

Nick chuckled slightly, "It will, given years of time. But how many days like this will I have? How many more times will I be showered with elephant trunk water? How many more times will I have boiling coffee spilt over me? How many times will strangers stop and stare at me, pulling back as they whisper lies and other… And what about the protest outside the ZPD? That was because of me. And my house, broken into and vandalised. To a huge chunk of the population, I'll always be guilty…"

Judy remained quiet, slowly looking into Nicks eyes. "You still helped people, didn't you? Our 314 today? Manny?..."

"Manny's out of his university for good thanks to me." Nick said back, slowly and bitterly. "They refused to even let him do his exams at his own expense. Even then, he can't access a lab for research projects next year. Of course, without his scholarship and no loans for this year, he'd be bankrupt living there soon enough anyway, not being a 500 clubber or anything."

"Nick, what happened to Manny has nothing to do with you. It was silly rules and stupid people, that is all. You did the right thing for the right reasons and, due to things completely out of your control, it twisted to produce the wrong results. Now come with me, enjoy this meal and we'll stay over at my place tonight. Or I'll handcuff you and force you to do it."

Nick laughed and stood up slightly, a grin returning to his face. Judy grinned back as their food arrived.

.

"Le dish-sea-on sieve-o-play," Judy said to the camel waitress, who smiled and went out to get the bill.

"Your accent was impeccable," Nick said, smugly smiling as Judy crossed her arms and frowned, her nose twitching. "Oooh, I'm getting the face of doom now am I," Nick replied, feigning mock fear. "Just remember that I survived calling Finnick adorable for four years straight."

Judy paused and smiled, laughing as Nick giggled in return.

"You mentioned the 500 club earlier," Judy said, recalling their conversation. "What is it?"

"Well, it's one things I will forgive Bunnies for not knowing about."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's literally the least relevant thing to bunny life in the history of everything ever."

"Nick, come on, why do you say that?" Judy asked, now very curious.

"How large is your extended family: siblings, uncles and aunts, cousins, maybe even the nieces and nephews?"

Judy paused, taking the question in, "No idea… 2,000, 3,000."

"Case in point," Nick replied.

"Care to explain?" Judy asked.

"3,000 blood relatives. In this city, on average, there are about 3,000 individuals of each predator species."

Judy gagged slightly, "that low?"

"Well some are more common than others. The big cats, wolves, and polar bears are especially overrepresented. Mustelids, Feliformians, viverridaens, Eupleridaens, a large number of bears, many canids and other mammals, they make up one third of carnivore species diversity but only 5 percent of the carnivore population. Many species, two types of false foxes and maned wolves included, have populations of less than 1,000 at which point the government keeps a close eye on their demographics but gives no assistance. If it drops below 500, such as with Darwin foxes, then the government goes into overdrive. Free mentoring, tutoring, health tips, family planning, surrogacy allowances, matchmaking, subsidised child care and housing you name it…"

"Sooo unfair…" Judy said, in a very over the top manner as the bill arrived, she quickly plugged in her card and paid while Nick continued talking.

"Well, it works. Since it was brought in no species has dropped below the 300 individuals mark, I think the lowest population is with some kind of Civet with a population of 390 or something…. Besides, if Bunnies got this kind of treatment…" Nick got his paws out and, sticking his tongue out askew, feigned concentration as he mimed typing into a calculator with a paw, "the city would be bankrupt in one hour, 15 minutes and 12 sec… OW!"

"Serves you right," Judy said smugly as she pulled back the foot she had used to kick Nick.

"Just because I'm saying the uncomfortable truths fluff, doesn't mean you have to be angry."

Judy smiled, as she polished off the last of her tea, "how do you know all this stuff?"

"Pardon?"

"I know you 'know' everyone, but how do you know about this 500 club and the populations of different…. Oh my…"

"What…" Nick said, with a hint of trepidation in his voice.

"You're just a big geek at heart, aren't you?" she said, teasing Nick.

"I beg your pardon," Nick said, smirking.

"Well, in an alternate universe, I'd be dating an zoothropology graduate."

Nicks smirk faded and his eyelids lifted, the pupils beneath darting about as if he'd just been told he was guilty of felony tax fraud. In response, Judy's large smile increased further and began radiating lethal levels of smugness, momentarily nobbling Nicks fast talking powers.

"I..uhhh… well in an alternate universe… I'd be an illegal theme park owner or be married and have natural hybrid kits with a honey badger or something… alternate universes… lots of possibilities. Who's the real big geek here bringing this up anyhow?"

Judy just smiled, and looked back. In responses Nicks smug façade quickly collapsed and he sighed.

"I found it interesting at the time, we were still poor enough to get some grants… and heck, the loan repayment terms were very favourable. OK?"

"I'm imaging how you would look in different kinds of geek glasses."

"Judy…"

"Now a hipster beard…"

"Fluff."

"A Star Wars shirt,"

"Carrots, please."

"Only if you tell me why you find it interesting."

Nick breathed in and sighed, before soberly replying, "I don't know for sure. I think it was because I was still bitter with most people. I knew society didn't like or trust my kind… I just wanted to know why? Deep down, I thought that this might give me an answer, that there might be some reason I could find out…"

"I have an answer." Judy said, getting out of her seat to comfort Nick.

"Entreat me," Nick replied, smiling as he awaited Judy's humorous response.

"Many Mammals, irrespective of age or species… are complete jerks."

Nick guffawed, and then the two got up to leave.

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"You know what I've forgotten?" Nick said, as they casually walked through the streets of Sahara square.

"Brain? Who says you can't lose it even if it is attached to your body?"

"I keep post it notes to remind me… anyway, what with all this mess and nonsense going on with family, the case and… well 'that'. I never got around to truly, properly asking you if you wanted to be my girlfriend?"

Judy paused slightly, glancing at Nick with her nose twitching, "well, do I want Nicholas Piberius Wilde to be my boyfriend?... yes, yes I do."

Nick paused as he turned towards Judy, "you know what… I'm really glad you said that. I love you, and want to be your boyfriend, Judy Laverne Hopps."

Nick pulled Judy out of the main concourse and into a small alcove, he looked down at her and smiled, moving his head forward. Judy responded in kind, slowly moving her head up towards Nick. Their noses bumped into each other and rubbed for a few seconds before the two twisted their heads and closed their eyes. Their mouths opened slightly as their lips touched and their tongues began to invade each other's spaces, lapping at each other's. Judy's short, smooth tongue went on top as it glided back and forth across Nicks course, long counterpart. They began sucking at each other while their jaws moved, gently caressing each other. And then it was over almost as soon as it had begun.

"That was…" Judy began.

"Almost as wonderful as the Bunny who it came from."

Judy looked up and smiled. She paused, trying to think of something poetic and notable to say in return, but her mind went blank. In the end, she went with her gut.

"That moment was perfect… I don't think anything can ruin…"

Nick pushed his finger to Judy's mouth silencing her as he smiled, "don't tempt fate carrots, I've still been seeing a lot of nasty glances here, there and everywhere. You can finish that comment when we get back to your place."

The two stepped out of the alcove and began the walk towards that station, ready to catch a train to Judy's apartment back in the grand pangolin arms. The scents and smells of the night markets drifted over them as they carried on, perfuming the night sky. Sadly, the sound department let them down in this moment as, despite its best attempts, the atmospheric murmur from the market was drowned out by the standard sounds of the city. As if to add insult to injury, Nicks phone went off, with his current ring tone of choice being a rather obnoxious hunting horn followed by barking dogs. He quickly picked it up and answered, "Hello? Finnick, I… uh huh, right. See you soon."

He switched the phone off before turning to Judy, "Finnick has a potential lead on the current case. Call the ZPD and ask them if they can have officers on standby near the Rio-monty club in the Canyonlands. I'll get a cab and get us there ASAP."


	18. Chapter 18

**Authors notes:** I should of uploaded this last night but I forgot. Consequently, I'll make it up by uploading the next chapter on Saturday, before publishing a new chapter every other day.

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- **Nick** -

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The car raced along the empty motorway beneath the black sky. It was a new moon and, in this part of town, the relative lack of lights allowed at least some of the stars to make an appearance. Nick had never had any reason to travel to the Canyonlands, positioned on the opposite side of Sahara square to the climate wall and relatively out of the way. All Nick knew of it was that most roads and rail lines into the city met here and that it was home to Finnick's on again/ off again girlfriend Sky. Like many residents of these parts, the diminutive (although still a head taller than Finnick) Fennec serviced the long distance trucks that often stopped here for the night before heading into the city at dawn to deliver their goods. Looking to either side, Nick saw the multiple small homes built into the Cliffside and linked by a myriad of staircases and balconies. Many lights were on as the nocturnal leaning mammals went about their daily lives in isolation. Apparently the cliffs themselves were a spectacle to behold with multiple different strata layers of varying colours bent and interwoven. However, with the combined darkness and light pollution, Nick would have to come back again in the near future to experience it in all its technicolour glory. Any worries or self-doubt from before had been thrown aside with a fiery resolve to end this case replacing it. Whatever these people were doing, however many mammals had been abducted, he'd stop it. And this time, it was personal.

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After paying their driver, Nick and Judy stepped out of the car and wandered towards the address Finnick had given them. The club was at the bottom of a small, natural chimney that had been eroded out of the side of the cliff. Wandering in, Nick saw shady shops and cramped houses all etched out of the rock and stacked up until they reached the top of the chimney, a small portal of sky far above. Lights and neon signs made the entire construct look like a great tunnel of light while multiple sources of music, playing a vast range of styles, competed with each other and their own echoes. While the night-time temperature in these parts could be cool, this area gave Nick the physical chills. As well as being very shaded, water dripped from the many establishments above him before flowing out of a drain a drain nearby, carrying as much heat as possible with it. The sound of water flowing, along with the aforementioned racket of musical sounds, overwhelmed Nicks hearing at first to the extent he couldn't hear the whispers calling him.

"NICK, I'm over here!" came the angry baritone shout from a secluded alley between two brick buildings. Looking around, Nick spotted the shadowy silhouette of Finnick and a large figure behind him. After glancing over his shoulders, Nick led Judy along with him and squeezed into the narrow space. After negotiating past several large and odorous bins, Nick came face to face with Finnick and, behind him, Manny. Both of them had their causal garb on, in Finnick's case his black T-shirt with a red stripe and tan shorts and, in Manny's case, a plain white T shirt and jeans.

"So, what's the story? Highs and lows." Nick said smugly, looking at Manny first and then Finnick.

Finnick, scowling, looked up, "Well, I was due to play in this club. And of course, getting more successful, I've had more gear to haul and an increasing groupie issue…"

"Unlucky you… trying to win back Sky are we?" Nick said with a sarcastic grin plastered on his face.

Finnick paused, his eyes narrowing and nose wrinkling. Nick saw him breath in and out a bit, evidently trying to calm his nerves. Seeing his fists still clenched and knowing the importance of the case, he stepped back from teasing so that Finnick could continue. Twenty-five years knowing and five years working with the dragon, Nick knew when it was time to can it.

"I needed some muscle OK?" Finnick spurted out. "And after we met at the ZPD after your arrest, I've come to think of him as someone who I can trust to not switch the labels on my records!"

"I can see why you'd like that," Nick smiled, remembering back when Finnick's last attempt to DJ professionally had inadvertently ended up with Gazelle (who was in her really innocent/ cute phase at the time) playing to a club full of punk rockers… with very… unusual results.

"Anyhow, met up with the owner of this club, going inside and setting things up. Then he sees me and Manny together for the first time and skits off for a few minutes before returning and cancelling our gig. No explanation."

Nick looked on quietly before sighing and speaking to Finnick grumpily, "listen, you said you had a lead. Not that you needed and officer to get someone to pay up…"

Finnick slapped his paw into his head while Judy came forward. "Dumb Fox," she said while looking at Nick, "he thinks that he and Manny were recognised from the trial! The people inside knew you were aquatinted with these two so he panicked, called his boss and cancelled."

Nick looked on and rolled his eyes, "or they recognised Finnick and Manny as two friends of a piece of mammalian filth?"

"It's worth a shot Nick, isn't it?" Judy replied.

"I suppose… they'll remember you two," Nick said, looking at Finn and Manny. "They'll recognise carrots and me so only one of us can go in. I'm stronger so I say I go in and just look for any suspicious activity."

"Sounds good, but you'll need to change" Judy said, looking up and down at Nicks suit.

"They'll be a clothing store or charity shop in this mess somewhere," Nick said while staring aimlessly up at the lights above. He grabbed his wallet and began climbing up.

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Half an hour later, Nick returned wearing a pair of camouflaged cargo pants and a Beavis and Butthead T-shirt. He passed his suit over to Manny, who proceeded to leave for Finnick's van.

"Just to make sure your safe," Judy began.

"Carrots, I'll be in and out before you know it. Finnick, who should I look out for?"

"Owners this Ibex bloke," Finnick replied, "quite distinctive. Left ear is half torn and only has one black bar under his eye instead of the standard two."

"Let's just turn on that tracking app that's on our phones. That way, if you get in trouble I can find you."

Nick paused and smiled, "Clever Bunny."

"Honest fox," Judy replied. Nick slipped out and made his way down a set of stairs. There was little to no queue and Nick, after getting a nod from the two Rhino bouncers, was let in.

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Nick had never been one to enjoy clubbing, but even he could tell that this place was a dump. The lack of live music was likely the main contributor to the poor mood with an empty soundstage in the black of a dark corner. Some techno beat was being played instead but even with the copious amounts of alcohol being served there was little to no energy in the patrons. The drab, peeling wallpaper and shabby floor and bar didn't help either. Of course, this was to Nick's favour seeing as it allowed him to get in early but, at the same time, it made blending into the crowd far more difficult. He tried to dance to whatever tune was playing, but was quickly getting bored with the repeating tones and squeaks that bleated out without any discernible rhythm. He kept his eyes and ears open but couldn't see the owner, or any suspicious activity for that matter, anywhere.

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Checking his watch, and seeing that less than an hour had passed, Nick excused himself and strolled towards the bathroom. From the smell in the alley, he had deciphered that the toilets opened out onto the side street and thus he could update his companions out of the window. This room was definitely a low point of his night with the vile smells assaulting his sensitive nose. He spotted the tiny window at the far end of the room and, after moving a paper towel bin into position, clambered up and pulled his head up to the small gap so he could speak out.

"Finnick, Carrots, Manny, are you there?" he said quietly, trying to avoid bringing attention to himself while at the same time making himself heard over the music.

"Just Fluff and I, kiddo!" came the shout of Finnick outside.

"Only I can call her that Toot-Toot," Nick shot back with a little laugh.

There was silence, although under cover of the music Nick knew that Finnick would be letting out an annoyed growl and Judy likely chuckling.

"Anyway, I don't think…"

He never got to finish the sentence as he felt his tail torn back. He extended his claws as far as he could, vainly trying to get a grip on the small shelf, as a terrified yip came out of his mouth. His paws fell off the shelf and were flung forward as he was swung around. The room turned into a blur going past him as the base of his brush screamed in pain. In a millisecond, he saw the wall of the toilet cubicle approaching before his vision went black.


	19. Chapter 19

Authors note: I hope you like fava beans as much as I do... In any case, next chapter goes up on Tuesday.

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- **Nick** -

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Nick slowly woke up and immediately regretted it. While the pain in his tail was gone, it was more than compensated for by the splitting migraine that racked his mind. The floor he was on was hard metal covered by a thin layer of felt and, from the noise, vibrations and complete absence of light, Nick deciphered that he was in the boot of a car or back of a truck. He gingerly tried to move his limbs but found that both his wrists and legs were bound with cable ties. Lifting his head up, his ears brushed against a surface above them and bent as he tried to rise some more. 'Car boot it is,' Nick thought as he began to squirm in his restraints, only to feel something around his snout.

It was odd how Nick often had a delayed reaction around these things, maybe it was his mind being on his side for once and trying to stave off what would come next. However, the inevitable always came. Nicks breathing picked up, his ears shot back while his eyes widened into dinner plates. Yanking his jaws open, Nick felt the band of plastic cutting through his fur and into his flesh as he vainly tried to shake the cable tie off. Had he been unbound, it would probably take seconds and just leave him a bit buzzed, but here he was left getting more worked up as he squirmed. Finally, he caught the band on something and yanked his head back. His jaw free, though his nose very much grazed, Nick tried to settle down and think through the situation.

The good news was that Judy and co knew that he had been taken so would be out to rescue him. Thinking back to those last few seconds, Nick couldn't remember who had attacked him. He did remember that one of the toilet stalls had been in use when he entered the bathroom but had no recollection of who was in it. The only thing about his attacker that he did know was that he, or she, was very strong. The car he was in was definitely very large, although not the top size (although he had seen no elephants at the club so this didn't rule out much), and had a faint whiff of new car smell still left in the fabric. Rolling over, Nick felt his pockets and realised that his phone had been taken. If he was lucky, his kidnapper had it with him at this moment. If unlucky, it was a pancake of plastic and metal out on some pavement.

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After an unknown amount of time driving, Nick felt the car stop and the driver get out. There were a dull set of thuds and the sound of the trunk opening. Before he had time to react, Nick felt his tail being pulled back as he was hauled out and dragged along the floor, full weight carried by the screaming appendage. To his right, Nick spotted the movement of large grey feet. Having discounted an elephant as his kidnapper, Nick quickly realized that it was a Rhino.

"Look what I got boss," came the gruff and proud voice, which Nick realised was that of one of the bouncers who had let him into the club.

"I can see, very well. Why do you have it?" came the reply, almost slightly bubbly and curious.

"The club owner spotted his friends poking around, I told him to boot them out. Hour or so later, Foxtrot turned up and I took matters into my own hands."

"So, it was all your plan to lure him here then?" came the other voice, sounding somewhat pleased.

"… UH, yeh, sure it was all my plan, start to finish," came the Rhino, evidently maximising his contribution to the effort.

"And you know who this is?"

"Yes I do boss, the one who found out the old operation and screwed it all up. Bet you're glad to see him here, kill the investigation once and for all."

"You disposed of his phone earlier, did you not?" said the boss, now sounding quite annoyed.

Taken back by the change in tone, the Rhino paused and muttered out a response, "I…uhhh…"

"SPIT IT OUT" screamed the boss.

"My girlfriend uhh… sent it off to a recycling place for money."

"Could be better… could be worse… she doesn't know anything about this does she?"

"Nope… now, you won't hurt her will you?" said the Rhino, beginning to get quite fearful. He pulled back and pulled up his hands as if to protect himself. Nick, his tail still in the Rhino's grip, was pulled up and screamed in pain. Squirming, his head stopped swinging back and forth and he looked forward at the boss. It was a portly Hippo, although Nick failed to make out many features on account of his inverted state.

"I won't. I don't like hurting those not in my organization, not their fault if they mess up our plans. You, however…" The Hippo said, the last words caustic with anger.

The Rhino began panicking, "I got the guy didn't I, I got…"

"HE WAS OFF THE CASE. AN EMOTIONAL WRECK. AND YOU DRAG HIM HERE, WITH FRIENDS WITNESSESSING THE EVENT!" The screams half deafened Nick while the Rhino began to stammer.

"But… but…"

"No Buts," The Hippo responded, angry but not shouting, "You've brought our organisation into the spotlight. It's too late to go back now however, so we'll have to roll with it."

"I'm… I'm sorry boss, please…"

"Don't worry," The Hippo replied, almost sincerely dismissing the Rhino's worries, "I forgive you, and this will be fun. Both him and you."

"NO!" cried the Rhino, but within the second the Hippo had pulled out a dart gun and shot his underling. Nicks head crashed into the hard floor and his body crumpled while the Rhino thankfully collapsed in the other direction.

"You know, when Oxley called and said that you had been investigating, I was quite surprised. Who'd have thought we'd end up on opposite sides of the law? Particularly these sides?"

Nick felt a large hand grab the flab of skin on the nape of his neck and, involuntarily, his muscles went limp as he was pulled up like a Kit. Looking up, he saw the Hippo stare over him.

"I mean, I thought you were a footnote in my past that would long be forgotten, but here we are."

Nick tried to come up with a response to scout number four, but he choked back on his words as they began walking forward. The Hippo didn't seem aggressive at all, but wasn't regretful like the Zebra or aloof like the Beaver.

"You did, however, ignite my interest in this past time along with Oxley," he continued, "Of course, one must keep a low profile but, when you popped back into the news with the nighthowlers… well, I could take my business and interests forward couldn't I. I suppose I should be thankful; without you I'd be a vapid nobody like Bucky, Jay or Jim."

Nick choked back slightly, still unsure of what to say. The strange maternal intimidation of being held by his collar like a Kit by his very own tormenter… the words choked up in his mouth. Thinking back, he was able to spit a few words out, "what… what will you do with me?"

"Well," the Hippo began proudly, "no point in wasting you or your capturer now is there?" The last part was tinged with a smug smile.

"You still haven't answered my question, have you?"

"Well, you'll see. Far better than your Maned wolf friend. He was drugged up throughout the old experience like most of our assets, till we found out he was actually somebody. Now, with your investigation putting the heat beneath the pan, we've have to put in serious effort to preserve our stock that he luckily didn't have to experience. Some adjustments that vastly reduce wear and tear… and you will have the joy of being sober throughout it all."

"Throughout what?" Nick said, getting angrier.

"Patience Rick," the Hippo said, evidently so disinterested that he didn't even know Nicks real name. "I should have remembered how impatient you were back when we first met… In any case, you'll be my special treat to the audience, brought out for experimental shows. No auctioning off and training for you."

The Hippo barged through a set of double doors and entered a white antechamber. It was almost medical, in a way, with white walls and the smell of disinfectant. A Jaguar and Moose guarded the entrance, smiling at the Hippo as he entered.

"I've got a blockhead Rhino out back whose let me down too many times. Give him the standard treatment before sending him straight to the coliseum. I'll be processing this one personally."

The two guards nodded their heads before wandering off while the Hippo looked back at Nick, smiling. "As you can see, we are an equal opportunities workplace. All you need is loyalty and the thirst."

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Nick hadn't like the sound of 'processing'; he liked the reality even less. He was quickly stripped down to his underwear and had his limbs and head tied to a dental chair. Mouth shut with fear, he squirmed in a futile attempt to escape but soon gave up.

"We normally have our products tranquilised at this point. But you wouldn't want to miss anything would you?" the Hippo said with a wicked grin across his face as he brought out a small pair of otter sized bolt cutters. Grabbing a small syringe, Nick was injected with a drug and felt his body become tenser and more alert. The Hippo moved the cutters over to Nicks claws, still somewhat dull after the painful incident in tundratown two weeks ago, and began clipping. Nick tried to retract his claws into the safety of their sheaths but couldn't, the drug fixing them out at full length. It wasn't too bad, seeing his claws cut down to flat stumps, but the whirring that began afterwards sent shivers down his spine.

"Ok.. Ok… fun's over now," Nick said, half pleading.

"Rest assured friend, it really isn't" replied the tormentor, holding a weasel sized sander in his hands. Nick closed his eyes and braced as his claws, one by one, were smoothed out it harmless bumps. The spinning disk often caught strands of Nicks fur, painfully ripping them out of his skin, or carelessly coming into contact with his flesh and grazing it off, creating stinging wounds. As each claw went down, a dull ache began to emanate from it, before maturing into a sting, as the sander reached the nerves. Nick's snout shortened and he began to whimper as the each of his sixteen claws were filed down, from first to last. He knew enough about banned prison practices to make an educated guess about what was coming next.

"We have a cauterizing iron; you know what that does?"

Shaking, Nick nodding, dreading to think how much it would hurt to have the tender ends of each claw burnt into ash, permanently destroying their ability to grow back.

"Well, lucky you, I want to keep you flexible. We'll skip that part and move onto the teeth."

Nick relaxed somewhat and smiled before his eyes darted open with horror at what had just been said, "What the hell do you mean, teeth, I thought you just muzzled us?"

"That I do when you're waiting. But many fights are much more fun with a little biting. However, due to the stock shortage you've created, we don't want things to end to quick, do we?"

Nick paused, trying to register what had just been said, but before he knew it his jaws were prized open. Rope was attached to the upper and lower jaws and tightened, producing a large maw in which the Hippo could operate. He fumbled around with a bag and brought out a pair of headphones. "Noise cancelling. Brilliant tech. You can hardy hear the screaming." Nick looked on as a small electric file was brought out and plugged in to the mains. The electric motor inside began whirring as the metal rod on the end sped up. Nick could only close his eyes and trembled as the device came closer.

"Doing the molar teeth isn't so bad," the Hippo commented nonchalantly, as he gazed into the maw in front of him. "Just a few little tips that need to be removed, mostly painless."

The strange reassurance didn't do anything to help Nick, who was desperately hoping to black out so he wouldn't have to remember this experience.

"Incisors, I just need to blunt the ends. Hurts a bit, like biting down on a load of cold ice cream. Now the canines however…" The Hippo chuckled as he moved forward, prying Nicks closed eye open and waving the device in front of it as a taunt.

"Canines do the real damage in a fight, and have to be brought down to the level of the other teeth. It's slow and excruciatingly painful. So much dentine we have to cut away. And the pain and sensitivity will continue for the rest of your life… just a heads up."

The Hippo broke eye contact as he moved the wand into Nicks mouth. He heard the sound through his skull, could feel the occasional dull nip as it brushed against the side of his mouth. The breeze it created was getting stronger as it got lower, and lower, and brushed against a tooth.

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The sound stopped… Nick whimpered and slowly opened a weeping eye. The Hippo paused, before bursting into laughter. Nick stayed silent, too scared to do anything that might provoke him. Finally, the Hippo calmed down and looked at Nick, fumbling in a draw, he drew two mouth guards and pushed them against Nicks teeth. His teeth sunk into the soft material, which slowly began to harden.

"You honestly think"… The Hippo chuckled… "You honestly believe I wouldn't cauterize your claws… but I would file down your teeth!"

He burst into laughter while Nick looked on. If he could speak, Nick would be tempted to say that he initially believed that his teeth would be pulled out, but he kept quiet.

"Now Rick… or is it Mick? Serve me good and I won't hurt you… much. But if you try and rebel… I have no qualms about doing either of those procedures. I have no qualms about making you bald with a pair of tweezers, hair by hair. I have no qualms about lopping off you tail and making myself a new tie. Got it?"

Nick gladly nodded his head as the Hippo released the ropes holding his jaws open. Nick snapped them shut, only to have a police muzzle flung onto him instead. In a second, the forward aperture was clamped shut and Nick began shaking once more.

"Out of the freezer and into the fire," said the Hippo, looking on with a happy grin.

Nick looked back, before the blackness took him.

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When he woke, after reliving an even more hellish version of his initiation than before, Nick saw that he was in a cage. It was barely big enough to hold him, and was being carried forward on a dolly. Along with the aches from his claws and discomfort from his teeth, the device on his face was still holding Nick's mouth closed, cutting into his skin, and it was firmly fastened shut. His arms and legs bound to each other, Nick couldn't begin to try (and fail) to remove the device so he was forced to use some of the techniques he had be taught in therapy. It was like trying to douse a house fire with pails of water, something that was vastly inadequate and ultimately futile. All Nick had to do however, was keep sane till Judy saved him. Judy always saved him, didn't she? Evidently, the panic from the muzzle was seeping into his mind as he began to doubt her. He closed his eyes and focussed, Judy will save me. Judy will save me.

"Morning sleepyhead?" came a comment from up above. Nick looked up to see not the Hippo but an Ox. The Ox.

Muted and unable to make a witty reply, Nick just turned around and scowled, eyes shut and breathing deep.

"Boss has a big day lined up for you tomorrow, but he asked me to give you the tour of the facility today."

They trundled along, until Nick saw them enter a large room. At the front were several cages, one of which contained a lioness in a muzzle and torn clothes. She was attempting to roar, smash out of her cage and attack those around her. Sniffing the air, Nick smelt the faint whiff of Nighthowler. Looking on, he realised that this was an auction, with many of the mammals in the audience bidding on the girl.

"This is one third of the business," said the Ox proudly, as the gavel banged down and a middle aged Stag purchased the lioness for thirty thousand dollars. Before Nick could see anymore, he was wheeled along a long set of corridors, before travelling down a creaky lift.

"This is the next third," came the voice as Nick went past a set of laboratories, Nighthowler plants growing inside of them. Passing by one room, Nick saw several large animals with stun batons surround a familiar looking moose, who had had his antlers almost removed and was crying as he lifted weights naked, bar a pair of shorts.

"We keep most fighters under Nighthowler 24/7", continued the Ox enthusiastically, "but when we want to have more interesting, non-savage fights, or when owners want to do training, we give them antidote to bring them back. All at great expense of course. And where else to keep your property, than under our own watchful eye."

They travelled through a door and entered a pitch black room. Nicks nose screamed at the smell of blood, bodily waste, sweat and who knows how many types of mammal. The sounds, screams and snarls, were deafening and took Nick back to when he was sneaking around Cliffside. Nick could already make out the shapes in the cages well thanks to his night vision, but with the lights on he was struck by the sheer magnitude of the operation. There were close to a hundred cages, lined up against the walls. All of the mammals inside were savage and usually had thick muzzles on them. Nick closed his eyes and tried to breath, trying to remove the horrific image from his mind even though it was forever etched into his memory. He felt the dolly move once more and looked up at his captor. For once, the voices and terror of his muzzle were gone, replaced with bitter rage. Despite being unable to speak, he growled at the Ox who merely looked down and smiled.

"I bet you're wondering why we do all this, aren't you?"

Unable to verbally communicate, Nick merely nodded.

"Back when Nighthowler was solved, Barry and I were still just into muzzling. Not because we didn't trust certain mammals but… well, it was fun! But Nighthowler didn't scare us like other mammals. We were enthralled by this idea of savagery, pain and flesh and blood. Things forgotten, banished from our civilization, but still down in there within us. Turns out, there are many people with the same ideas as us. Many of them are quite rich! So together… we built a place to indulge in these fantasies and wild times. Come and see."

The Ox stopped in a small cell, a set of wooden panels to one side. Nick hadn't noticed before, but the loud sounds of a crowd were permeating through. He could feel the ground shake with stomps and clapping, and he could smell blood and fear. The Ox smiled and lifted up Nicks cage, resting him on a ledge before sliding back the wooden shutter. Through the iron bars of the window, Nick look out onto a circular sand pit, surrounded by tiers of mammals of all shapes and sizes. In a raised podium overlooking the pit, stood Barry the Hippo by a large microphone.

"Mammals… friends… Welcome to Fight Club."


	20. Chapter 20

- **Nick** -

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It had been one day since Nick had seen his fate. After the Hippo had given his speech, he watched as a black Wolf and a Cougar with his fur dyed red were led it. Their cages were stacked on either side of the ring so that they faced each other, snarling and barking at each other. Nick smelt nighthowler in both of them while the Hippo finished his introduction. They weren't told the true names of the mammals, instead they were introduced by banal stage names that Nick had long since forgotten. Betting odds had been displayed while the baying crowd had put in their wagers. Then, with the ring clear, the two savages were released to battle it out. With claws removed and teeth dulled by the mouth guards, the fight quickly reverted to punches, leaps and kicks. Nick tried to shut out the sounds of the pain but it was futile. He didn't know how long it went on for but it began ending with a canine whimper. Peeking out, Nick had glanced the wolf lying on the floor, being beaten by the mindless victor, before both were tranquilised. After that, Nick had been hauled back in his cage and placed over an open drain with the rest of the animals. With the lights out, he waited as the minutes and hours crawled by at a painfully slow pace. Throughout it all he felt the remorseless bite of the muzzle, only made worse by the terror of what he had seen. The dreams that Manny had told him all made sense now, fitting into pieces of the puzzle. In the darkness, he began to even loose the distinction between reality and dream.

.

It was dark when the bull came in, tending to a pair of jackals to Nicks left. Unlike the others, these two had no muzzles on and barked and yipped with anger. The owner merely hushed them, and fed them what smelled like raw meat. He heard him mention how they would have to kill more if they wanted extra food…

.

He witnessed one of the guards come in and inject a victim with something. After an audible growl, there were groggy sounds and then terrified words. Pleading, begging, it went on and on. When it stopped, the guard laughed and merely told the captive that this was hell and he should get used to it. There was a short pop, and the captive reverted to his grunts.

.

Nick saw two cages drag in. Looking inside the smaller one, Nick recognised Finnick and Judy, while the larger one contained Manny. "More witnesses Nicky," came the call of the Ox, "you'll take out the two runts before the big guy finishes you off."

.

He was at the head of the ring, with Barry the Hippo. Still caged and muzzled, Nick looked down as four foxes were dragged in in cages, before each one was shot with a dart. "Special show, just for you," he heard, as he saw his parents and siblings race out to meet each other.

.

"Fear always works, and I'll dart every predator in the city to make it happen."

Nick looked up at Dawn Bellweather, lording over him and Judy. He was in the pit at the museum and in front of him was Judy. He lunged, ready to fake bite her. But he went on. He tore through her neck, silencing her. He ripped out her flesh and devoured it. All the time he heard the sheep laughing above him.

.

He was back in the cages with the lights on. A crying lioness was being shown around, handcuffed and led on a leash by a familiar stag. "This is where the normal scum live. I bet your cell is mighty nice now isn't it? Now, you can either stay there and do the five hours' worth of exercises that I tell you to do, or you stay in here and get forced to do them. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," the girl cried as she was led back out.

.

Large beakers full of slop were being refilled on the side of each cage. Tentatively, Nick leaned forward, allowing the metal straw to slip between his tight lips. He began sucking, initially recoiling at the foul taste of bug-burger mixed with protein shake. Ultimately, however, he had little choice but to continue sucking in order to quell his growing hunger.

.

There was the rattling of locks as his cage was opened. Nick felt himself being pulled onto the moist, cold floor before being dragged out by his feet. Leaving the reek of the cages behind him, they winded through semi-familiar passageways before he was thrown into a familiar cell before his feet and legs were unlocked. The door closed and locked shut, stranding Nick inside the room. Moving his limbs gently, and wincing as he felt the blood flow return to them, he brought them in front of him so he could inspect the damage. Thankfully, his fur had protected his skin, leaving only minor cuts. Moving his hands up to his head, he felt through the steel of the muzzle and touched his fur, matted with blood and tears. Breath and heartbeat rapid as ever, he dropped all pretence of keeping calm and began the futile attempts to tear the dreaded device off his head. He didn't even register the announcement going on outside.

"Mammals… friends… welcome to fight club. The first rule of fight club is; you do not talk about fight club. Unless of course your talking to someone here or someone who is into these things. We need some word of mouth people! The second rule of fight club is, do not flush your toilet paper. The pipes simply can't handle it all. It's disgusting I know but please use the bins people. The third rule of fight club is… sod it, people only listen to the first two. Now who is ready for a fight!"

The cheers and raucous outside finally snapped Nick back to attention. He meekly placed his ear against the door to hear what was going on.

"As you all know; the police spotlight is dangerously close at this time. Consequently, we've had to move to largely bloodless fights."

The crowd began booing, evidently displeased at the rules.

"I know, I know. But don't worry, while we can't go back to bloodless fights yet, we can see the killjoy who raised the investigation get his ass kicked!"

Nicked winced in horror as the crowd cheered, almost deafening him.

"Now I've always been interested in asymmetrical warfare," continued the Hippo, eliciting whispers from the crowd. "After finding half a dozen weasels under my command pilfering goods, I gave them two options. Become gladiators for me or die. Guess what they picked."

The crowd erupted, and with a loud clang the door from Nicks cell to the arena opened. Peeking out, Nick saw six weasels, all clad in basic armour and holding blunt weapons such as wrenches or pipes. Backing off, Nick had no intention of giving them a fight, however a clang from behind him and an extending shock prod had other ideas. The device thrust itself at Nick, narrowly missing him as he shuffled towards the door to the arena. Pushing backwards and forwards, the operator swept the room as he moved it closer towards him. Finally, Nick had no choice but to retreat out to the booing crowd. Before he could react, the door was shut and he was surrounded by hundreds of baying faces. Men mainly, but also women. Big mammals, small mammals, preds and prey. How many times had Nick passed these people in the street, people who were here only to see the pain and suffering of their own kind? Nick looked around and saw that the weasels, cowering in their armour, had split into two groups to try and flank him. Looking up, Nick saw the Hippo smiling as he watched on. 'I'm not going to play your game,' thought Nick, as he lay down into the sand, covering his ears and eyes with his hands, and braced for the beating. It came, it hurt, but it didn't last long. The stinging lasted for all but a minute, while booing rang around, before Nick felt his tail yanked up. The world went upside down as he was held aloft by the highly irate Hippo.

"Foxcop doesn't want to play our game does he. Don't worry, he has another fight this evening, and this time there will be blood."

.

Back in his dark cage, although this time with free hands, the fiddling continued as Nick tried to find a modicum of comfort in this situation. The foolish errand was cut short, however, by the lights turning on as Barry, and a white wolf, walked up towards him.

"You caused me quite the embarrassment there, didn't you?" he said, "But I've got the perfect solution. Firstly, you'll fight a savage rhino so it's either kill or be killed. Secondly, you'll be given a very dilute nighthowler dosage before the battle. You'll still be in control, just with your rage magnified and empathy crushed. Finally, I have a new friend here. Someone who had his brother put away thanks to you. On hearing that you were here, he asked if he could pay you a visit. I would have said no, but since you humiliated me so much today I've had a change of heart. I'll be back in five."

Nick watched as the hippo lumbered away, leaving him facing the wolf. Nick had never seen this wolf before, nor could he recall any arrests that he had made which would justify any anger. Looking up and trying to get a view on the character, Nick noticed that there was something off about him. For a wolf, some of his fur looked a bit long, his legs were definitely out of proportion and his posture… just didn't seem to fit. He didn't even smell of wolf, instead smelling of paint of all things and something… familiar. The wolf leant in closer and smiled, before speaking in a voice that Nick knew.

"Long time no see friend…"

It was Manny. Fur dyed white, very convincingly if he had to say so, but Manny none the less. He leaned in closer, and whispered as quiet as he could, "the ZPD plans to raid this place in a few hours, just hold on in there."

Nick nodded in reply, before spotting the cattle prod in Manny's hand.

"He'll expect something. I zap the cage, you scream, OK?"

Nick played the charade out for a while, fake screaming through his shut jaws while Manny shocked the metal cage. It wasn't long before the Hippo lumbered back in and looked on them.

"Made some good work of him I see. You know what, join me up at the battle tonight. It'll be fun watching this runt facing off against two tonnes of Rhino."

"Yeh, it will be," Manny replied, handing the rod back to Barry. The Hippo held the rod and looked at it.

"You went a bit soft at him, let me have a go," he said, as he flicked the device to full power and thrust it into Nicks belly. Nick felt the searing burn of electric pain, then blackness.

" _even though you're a fox?,_ " came an echo through his mind, as he saw five figures, dressed in green appear. 'Long time no see,' Nick thought to himself bitterly, before he was thrown down like a thousand times before.

.

A cold splash to water woke Nick up. His left arm was sore and slightly numb, as if he just had a flu shot. 'The nighthowler', Nick thought, 'I'm going to tear that god damn Hippo from limb to limb and!' Nick stopped himself when he realised how aggressive he was getting. Sure, he had every right to be mad, but fantasising about dismemberment? 'Don't let them see that they get to you', he thought. If he got too mad, it could be the end of him considering his enemy. Looking around, Nick saw that he was in a cage in the ring. Around him were the faces of the audience, baying for a spectacular battle and opposite him stood the Rhino, the same lug head who had captured him in the first place. Looking up, Nick saw that Barry, Oxley and Manny were all sitting in the main box, as if ready to give judgement. There was a click, and Nick felt his muzzle release. Grabbing it, he tore it off and for once was able to satisfy his urge for deep breaths. His paws raced up against his muzzle and brushed his fur, cleaning off some of the dust and grime that had accumulated. His moment of peace was short lived, however, as the Hippo gave his speech.

"I must apologise for today's earlier performance. This afternoon, however, will be brilliant: Brain vs Brawn as two thorns in our society duke it out. I have no qualms about either of these two getting injured, so this will be a battle like none other. Let it Begin!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as Nick's cage was pulled up, leaving him exposed. Looking over, he saw the Rhino begin to charge.

.

Nick looked at the beast charging towards him. It was on all fours, its great horn thrust forward like a sword. Every instinct in Nick screamed at him to charge, to face him one on one. But for once, Nick knew not to rely on his instincts. These ones weren't his own, it was Nighthowler talking. He had to think or he would be dead. That's what the lump of fat Hippo had said wasn't it? Nick grimaced and held his ground. The pounding of hooves came closer and closer, the pace intensifying just like his heartbeat. Three, two, one, Now!

Nick leapt to the side just before he was about to be gored. He rolled in the sand, narrowly missing the feet of the rhino, who smashed into the wooden palisade with a sickening crack. Looking over, Nick was very disappointed to see that it was the wood itself that had cracked and not the Rhino. Although dazed, the beast glanced at Nick and leapt onto its hind legs, its front feet rising up before plummeting down. Nick rolled, barely avoiding being crushed, and then raced underneath the enemy in its blind spot towards its tail. 'Tail,' thought Nick, remembering the agony this brute had caused to his own precious brush. Seeing the pathetic string of flesh between its hind legs, Nick bared his teeth. Without second thought, he was through the hind legs and clamping his jaws around the tail. He was going to bite it off. What kind of mammal had no tail? It would serve this brute right. He would cut through, taste the blood, then… then… The shaking of the beast, trying to fling Nick off itself, shook him back to his senses. Had he really planned to eat flesh? Was this what Nighthowler did? He looked down, and saw that no mark had been made despite Nick biting down and chewing with all his force. His teeth…HIS TEETH! Nick remembered the stupid mouth guard, along with the threats and fear. His rage tempered with the logic from his still functioning brain, Nick clambered onto the back of the bucking beast and began making his way forward. With his claws rendered useless, it was nigh on impossible to hold on but Nick did so none the less. Somehow, he made it to the Rhinos neck, where he clung on for dear life as the enemy's attempts to throw him off increased. His arms ached as they absorbed the force of the shaking and Nicks grip almost slipped. For a second, he dreaded that he would be thrown onto the floor and crushed, but instead he wrapped his legs around the neck and leaned forward. He knew that there was only one part of the beast's body vulnerable to him and, leaning forward, he balled his right arm into a fist and smashed it into one of the Rhino's eyes. The beast screamed and began charging around the arena, completely on the defensive. Leaning over, Nick saw that the eye was hurt but still functioning. He brought down another fist, then another. All onto the same spot with ever increasing force. The skin around the area turned black as Nick punched and punched and punched, before finally switching to the other eye. He no longer cared whether he blinded the beast or not. He no longer cared if he died or not. Adrenaline and night howler coursed through his veins removing any trace of his old self's restraint. His only mission was to hurt those who hurt him. Temporarily blind, the Rhino picked up more speed and careered into the side palisade again. This time, however, he hit a concrete supporting post with a sickening thud. The force threw Nick off, sending him careering into the side wall. A stray arm caught the ledge and he pulled himself up. Below him, the Rhino lay struggling and concussed on the ground, his horn snapped and snout broken while blood flowed from his jaw. Above him lay fleeing spectators, here for blood but terrified that a savage fox was within striking distance… 'savage fox', Nick thought for a moment before smirking himself. Those were very fitting words indeed. And that savage fox turned, and rested his eyes on two particularly vile and nasty mammals who looked like they needed a dose of rough justice.

.

It was at that moment that the entire building erupted. Short, sharp explosions racked the area above as acrid gas began pouring in. Smelling the tear gas, before he saw it, Nick began running towards his enemies as the calls of the ZPD T.U.S.K unit came in above. The Ox and the Hippo split, jumping into the pit and racing towards different doorways that had been opened up in order to allow evacuation. Nick fixed his eyes on the Hippo, and charged.


	21. Chapter 21

- **Manny** -

.

Manny was now glad that he had been drugged with tranquilisers and Nighthowler on the night he was taken. On seeing the depraved prison these two mammals ran in the name of sport, he was thankful that he didn't remember being under its spiked foot, minus the few errant traces that lingered in his mind. That didn't, however, make him any less furious at them for doing this to him and his friends. They would pay.

He'd been locking up Finnick's van when his phone rang, the others calling to say that Nick had been taken. It had been thanks to this call that he had the phone out when the suspiciously large car raced passed. A quick snap of the licence plate and then a trip to the jam cams and they found the processing area. That had only angered the department more, seeing the torture devices and cages abandoned, the enemy one step ahead as always. But by this point Finnick had a hunch, knowing some regulars who frequented a club he served nearby. The ZPD said they didn't have the evidence to take them in so Manny went on a private investigation, with support from Judy and Finnick. He had donned his disguise and, thanks to a hidden camera and microphone, found a particularly ugly hyena that Finnick referred to as 'the creep'. A few cringe worthy conversations later and Manny was into the fight club. A circumstantial meeting, a quick word with the owner and he found Nick, locked in a cage and cowering with fear.

.

That Nick, nor the Nick Manny knew before, ran in front of him now. Racing on all fours, screaming and shouting, high on Nighthowlers. The Ox and Hippo had wanted a mad fighting machine and they had got it. Manny just needed to keep up and make sure that no-one got hurt. His lungs burned and legs ached as he followed them on through the dark tunnel. Ducking and weaving past pipes and ledges, he saw the lumbering shape of the two bulky mammals split up ahead, with Nick following the one to the right. Without hesitation, Manny followed him. He was there, first and foremost, to save his friend whether that be from his enemy or from himself. Besides, he had no weapons and chief Bogo had brought the entire ZPD down to handle this, himself and his most merciless driver included.

.

Manny burst into an open room and was half blinded by the high afternoon sun. The pervasive damp and mildew of the tunnel was replaced by the sharp sting of salt air, factory fumes and river mud. The smell of the docks. His eyes adjusting, he began to make sense of his surroundings. In the distance, the towers of the city overlooked the brown mud of the river estuary while in the foreground a flat concrete plain, surface scored with rails, filled his vision. Dotted across the place were old rail wagons, gantry cranes, repair pits and all the other paraphernalia you expected of a rail yard. A sharp cry pricked his ears and Manny turned his head to see shadows flicking rapidly behind a set of rusting diesel locomotives. Running, Manny reached one of the beached giants and clambered up onto its flat roof in order to survey the area.

Through the maze of Maroon behemoths, the Hippo was running witless and terrified, trailing blood from his ankles. He stopped to catch his breath, panting heavily before limping on. A low growl, deep and guttural, caught his attention, his ears pricking up and scanning around desperate to find its source. Then there came the red flash, racing along the crumbling floor and swiping past the Hippo before diving under another train. The Hippo screamed and began running again, a thin line of blood following him. Manny had no idea what was going on, whether he should help or stay back, but quickly remembered that he had Judy's number.

"Judy?" he said, without hesitation when his called was picked up.

"Manny?" came the rabbits reply, scared and desperate. "Is…"

"Nick's OK but his captor may not be if we wait any longer. Come down to the rail depot near the bay." Manny hung up almost instantly and turned back to the fight.

The Fight was moving off to the south and Manny began following it. Leaping from train roof to train roof, trying to gauge the situation. The Hippo, finding a large block of crumbling concrete, strained to lift it above his head and hold it in position. Wide eyed and panting desperately, he began turning around to survey the area and spot his attacker as he trembled with exhaustion. Nick, however, had other ideas as he darted from beneath one of the locomotives towards him. Almost running on four legs, he curved around towards the Hippo who in response readied his improvised but deadly weapon. However, before he could fling it, Nick reversed direction and began spiralling towards him anticlockwise. The Hippo pulled back the block over his head and turned, finding Nick and preparing to fling it once more. Nick changed direction again, clockwise and far faster than the Hippo could turn. Cutting behind the mammal's legs, he held out a sheet of metal and slashed as he went past. The Hippo screamed as the cut on the back of his legs were made deeper, burrowing towards the Achilles tendons. The pain caused his grip on the concrete to loosen and it slipped out of his hand. The impact on his head was certainly humiliating, but the sick thud and scream that accompanied it hitting his foot made it clear that the second impact was the painful one. The Hippo stumbled and fell, crawling on the floor as Nick swooped in for attack after attack.

.

The Hippo, by pure luck, had found an engine with an open door and leapt inside in order to seek shelter from the vengeful vulpine. Nick, meanwhile, jumped onto the engine hood in front of the cabin and, now brandishing a long iron pipe, began ramming the windshield.

"Nick?" Manny shouted.

The Fox paid him not attention, doubling up his efforts to smash through the tough tempered glass. With his clothes torn and teeth bared, he looked like a savage from the dark days of Bellweather, but Manny knew that his friend was in there.

"Judy is coming," Manny shouted, hoping it would catch his ears.

He paused for a second, looking at Manny as he caught his breath, before turning back again to the window. Manny dropped down to the floor and raced over so he was next to his friend.

"Calm down a bit Nick, this will be over soon, just wait."

"No Manny. He deserves to pay!" Nick screamed back, a particularly powerful thrust pushing the pipe through the windscreen and past the cowering Hippos throat, missing by no more than a few centimetres.

"You'll injure him," Manny shouted, pleading with Nick not to abandon reason.

"I'LL KILL HIM!" screamed back the fox that had once been Nick.

Manny backed off, as he saw the Fox merciless thrust the pipe again and again, each time almost glancing the cowering lump of flesh inside the train. "I know you're still in there Nick. Don't let the Nighthowler control you," he said, not pleading anymore but asserting.

"How do you know!" screamed back the Fox. "How do you know if I'm still here, after what this monster has done to me and you!"

"Because you could have hit him ten times by now…"

Nick paused, before pulling back the iron pipe and glancing between Manny and his victim. His fur was chaos, matted and filthy. His chest heaved in and out while his legs trembled with exhaustion. His eyes were dull and focussed on some spot far behind Manny. But somehow, he knew that Nick had returned.

"I… I…" he began stammering, doubling over as the adrenaline cut off and the cramps came to the forefront.

"I know…" Manny said with a smirk, grabbing a small epipen from his pocket, "Nighthowler antidote."

Nick just nodded as Manny pushed the thin needle into Nick's twitching arm and letting the calming fluid flow into his veins. After the initial wince in pain, a tiny smile grew across Nicks face as the sound of sirens came into earshot.

"You stopped me doing something really stupid there," Nick said, his characteristic sarcastic tone returning.

Manny supported Nick, whose legs buckled as they gave in, and the two stared in silence, smiling at their victory, until the peace was shattered by the crushing of glass and a small gasping scream. Looking down, they spotted the Hippo outside of the cabin trying to escape. Their eyes met, for a second, before they resumed the chase.

.

The Hippo had had more time to recover his breath and the benefit of adrenaline, while Nick was physically exhausted and Manny unable to muster the speed. However, legging it through the narrow corridors of forgotten railway heritage, the two canids began closing the gap. Second by second, meter by meter, they closed in on the Hippo until he turned sharply to the left and a rhythmic thrumming started. Turning the corner, Manny saw the Hippo in a small motorised handcart, barely big enough to hold him in, speeding away while taunting them. He was left breathless; all that pain he and Nick went through for nothing. That was until a sharp horn shocked him upright. Looking over, his shoulder, he saw Nick start up an identical cart.

"Room for one more," he shouted, to which Manny responded by leaping onto the back as they sped off in pursuit.

.

- **Bogo** -

.

The hulking buffalo listened carefully to his phone, nodding gently as he took in the information that was streaming in. There was a soft grunt, here and there, before he hung up and placed the device on his dashboard. The squad car was parked in an alleyway, sheltered beneath the shadows as it waited for prey to come past. But for now, it stayed still, its inside filled with a stifling, awkward silence.

Bogo grunted, and broke the silence in a soft but angry voice. "From what I gather, this is one of the vilest cases to of ever hit our fair city. To be fair, we suspected something like this already, but from the reports given none of us could have ever suspected such evil with so many victims and such wide support."

On the other side of the car, a figure cloaked in black slowly nodded as it took in the information. Its paw gently moved forward, tapping the steering wheel slightly and fidgeting as his internal driver chomped at the metaphoric bit. The silhouette of its head nodded slowly, as it took in the information being re-laid back to them.

Bogo, turning towards his driver and sighed before continuing, "I remember when we were in the force together. You were our deadliest driver. No villain, no crook, no-one could escape your pursuit. I suppose its part destiny, part family legacy…"

The shaded figure chuckled, fidgeting in his seat some more. Bogo elicited a small smile too, reminiscing about days long past, before resuming his speech.

"But of course, you were too deadly. You captured crooks but the collateral damage was always intense, we were lucky no one was killed. I know you always felt bitter about it, being kept back. But I, and even you, could see it was for the greater good. No villain was worth the risk of using you, but unlike my predecessor, I could always imagine one turning up."

The figure turned slightly, cheek muscles pulling back to create a warm smile of gratitude.

"So we trained you," Bogo continued, "and kept you in practice. We never tamed you but you were always ready, a weapon of last resort. And with what these people have been doing… a few mailboxes smashed to pieces is a price worth paying for justice…"

Bogo sat back in his seat and glanced over, flicking at the radio. A few lines of static cut into the quiet… and then Clawhausers voice breaking through.

"We have a miscreant, similar to wanted person Conner Oxley, racing down sturgeon drive towards the Mayor Shirely Nagsworth memorial highway in a blue sedan, all officers to pursue and capture, over."

Their car roared to life, its wheels spinning and kicking up a cloud of dust and debris behind it. Bogo was thrust into his seat and thrown against the door as they hair pinned to the right and began racing after a blue car in the distance, sirens blaring. The car in front put on its own spurt of speed before clipping the curb in a sharp left-hand turn. As it turned, it tipped sideways from the force of the manoeuver before the two left hand wheels crashed back down into the road surface with a solid thud. They hopped several times as the suspension released the pent up energy and then the vehicle was hidden behind the corner, racing away. The police cruiser following behind turned too and its wheels locked up as the driver turned the wheel and pulled back the handbreak with all his energy. The handbrake turn drifting the car around the bend, clouds of dust kicked up in its wake, before the vehicle orientated itself back in line with the suspect. The accelerator hammered down and there was a flurry a quick gear changes. As rubber burned and the gap between predator and prey closed they continued the chase without mercy.

Bogo stood in his seat, subconsciously checking his seatbelt. Never a major fan of high speed chases, sweat beaded down his head as the car weaved from side to side. The sirens got most pedestrians well out of the way but there were always those too unlucky or too stupid. There was one up in front now, disorientated by the first car and oblivious to theirs. The driver swung to the right, glancing the mammals tail as they cut across an empty curb and back onto the road behind the target. Steadying himself after the rough landing, Bogo, looking slightly shaken and pressed into his seat, relaxed somewhat and turned to his driver.

"All these years… you still have it," he said with a reassuring grin with uncharacteristic hints of respect and admiration.

Benjamin Clawhauser looked back and smiled, "Oh, you know I have chief. Mind if I put on a pursuit song? I have an old gazelle mix CD from the good old days."

"Yes you may," Bogo said wearily, before stifling a chuckle and smiling.

"OMG, this is so Awesome!" Ben cooed, as he placed a CD in while weaving through the thickening traffic, chasing the careering vehicle ahead. As the music started playing, the cheetah jiggled in his seat to the fast paced tune as they cut across another curb, car jumping into the air before crashing back down with a squeal. Ben was squealing too, until the pop tunes of gazelle suddenly stopped, and were replaced with warbling violins. They rose up in tone and volume in three steps before descending. A lighter set of sweeping viola's cut in, before the distinctive trombone tune began. Clawhauser sat eyes agape, and looked over at Bogo.

"However much I like Gazelle," Bogo began as he smiled, "I felt that ride of the Valkyries was more appropriate for the occasion. I may of… taped over your CD with a five-hour loop."

Clawhauser stood silent, before turning back towards their target and screaming with fury. The engine seemed to find another set of cylinders and fired them as they raced further forwards. Weaving past lamps and fleeing pedestrians, the usually jovial cheetah leaned over, with a hunting face like a predator of old. Bogo merely cowered into his seat with terror.

"No hard feelings… I'd like to come out of this alive…" he pleaded.


	22. Chapter 22

**Authors note: Almost there, due to IRL issues I plan to add the conclusion on the 29th before starting to publish a new fic I've been working on.**

 **Additional: a bit of text was somehow missing. I fluffed it so it now makes sense.**

- **Nick** -

.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Nick pulled his head down and flattened his ears as they sped up. The wind was now howling past them, the chill permeating through his fur as they passed alongside the riverfront. The western districts of the city were off to their right across the bay, the tall towers of downtown receding into the thick green of the rainforest district. Their train, if you could call it that, was even more Spartan than the one he had stolen from Doug just over nine months ago. With no suspension, each shift and kink in the rails shook Nick and Manny as they raced along while the tremors from the evidently unhealthy diesel engine shook and rattled their bones and teeth. In front of them rode an identical cart, its occupant desperately pounding at the machine to get some more energy out of it. It was futile, however, and as Nick and Manny were lighter they were catching up.

"What do we do when we catch him Nick!" shouted Manny, voice struggling to rise above the winds howl. He was huddled down in the back of the cart, fake white fur blown flat and sleek by the speed.

Nick looked back and smiled, "I have no idea!"

Manny looked up, head and one ear tilting while his mouth opened in confusion, "aren't you the expert at… RED LIGHT!"

The scream caused Nick to turn around and, true to Manny's word, they had passed under a red signal. Nick looked around at his control box and panicked, remembering his close call with a freight train the last time he had been in charge of a rail vehicle. As if to confound his fears, a familiar horn cut through the air. Repeating several times, all the while increasing in volume, Nick began scanning the controls with an even greater fever, eyes wide and mouth agape. He glanced upwards, and let out a great sigh of relief as another load set of horns permeated the air. Their cart began vibrating as a great freight train thundered past on the line to their left. Despite being perfectly safe, the massive vertical mass racing past caused Nick to cower somewhat until it had finally passed. Fortunately, however, their target had done the same thing and his mass was high enough to tilt his cart. Throughout the passing, his vehicles wheel flanges had grinded against the rails, sending sparks flying, and losing a substantial amount of his lead.

Nick chuckled, "We're on the down line, the gaps almost closed, we're going to get him!"

Manny got to his feet and steadied himself against the wind, "he won't have the wind blowing in his face though, he has the advantage!"

Nick looked back, his smile receding, "Crap… any ideas?"

Manny stayed quiet for a moment, before a smile took over him. Grabbing the pipe Nick had used earlier, Manny leant over the back of the train and began grinding it against the rail, "You get the trains together, couple them and then brake. Slow him down until Judy can arrive."

"And you?" Nick said, looking back.

Standing up with the pipe, now sanded razor sharp, Manny smiled, "I'll keep him off you."

.

The roar of the wind seemed to quieten down somewhat as they drew close. Seeing his two pursuers about to reach him again, the Hippo wrestled one of the supports for the tin roof out of its holder, brandishing it as a weapon. Still insecure, he grabbed a second one, tearing it out of its fixing. The tin roof, rattling from the force of the wind, tore itself loose and somersaulted over the pursuing car before settling on the rails far behind. Fully exposed to the elements, the Hippo squatted down like a sumo wrestler and held his two improvised weapons up in a show of intimidation. As Nick manoeuvred himself within striking distance of the cart, Manny jumped onto the front and brought forth his own improvised sword. The Hippo panicked, and threw one of his dull metal beams at Manny like a javelin. It would have hit, but Manny sidestepped and deflected it to the side with a strong parry. Turning back to face the Hippo, Manny smiled as the two train cars met.

The Hippo tried to strike again, this time a powerful side cut propelled by his large biceps went racing towards Manny. Metal rang on metal as Manny's sword deftly hit the Hippo's and pushed it off to the side. The Hippo swung once more and was deflected again, and again, and again. Each time, the sound of steel rang on steel as they hurtled onwards. Manny was smiling now, almost dancing as cut after cut came his way but was either dodged or deflected. The anger and fear on their enemy only rose as his swinging arms began to burn with exhaustion. He changed his tactic. A sudden parry which Manny quickly dodged. And another, and another. Each time came close, gently brushing the tips of Manny's long fur hairs, but in reality they had no chance of hitting on target. This only further angered the Hippo whose mistakes and inexperience were becoming more and more evident. Manny, on the other hand, was in his element and smiled as he gracefully ducked under a powerful side swing. The swing had used up all of the Hippo's energy and left his weapon far away to his right. It would take several seconds for it to return to a useful position and Manny had no intent of giving him the luxury. A sudden parry drove the sharp end of the pipe into the fat of the Hippo's vulnerable belly, causing him to scream in agony. Manny repeated the move again, and again, and again. Each time hitting non vital areas but eliciting screams from his rival. Finally, in a last act of defiance, the Hippo weakly swung his weapon at Manny one more time. The maned wolf hopped back and ducked underneath before he brought down his pipe onto the Hippos hand with a sick thud. A cry of agony and the iron bar fell off to the side.

"Surrender," shouted Manny, as he gloated over his defeated foe.

"Why should I, this is only stalemate now isn't it. You can't stop me!" The Hippo shouted back.

"Can we stop you?" came a sarcastic voice, "Yes, yes we can." Nick smiled as he looked up. While the Hippo had focussed on Manny's onslaught, Nick had bent over and fixed the couples of the two carts together. With only one hand available, the other resting on the bumper for safety, it had taken a while but he had succeeded. Manny grabbed Nicks back legs and hauled him back into the safety of the cabin, where he applied the brakes. There was a bone chilling squeal and a loud thump as the rear cart pulled back, drawing the lead cart down towards a stop with it. As the carts continued to slow, the Hippo looked around, before deciding to do something really stupid.

He smashed his good hand into the control console behind him, ripping up a set of levels and buttons before throwing them out to the side. As Nick and Manny backed off in confusion, the Hippo surveyed his work before turning and jumping at them. Fearing death by crushing, both Nick and Manny leapt to the side of the Hippo as he careered through the opening at their car's front. Hauling themselves to the roof, they looked down as a series of smashes and tearing sounds emanated from beneath them. Suddenly, the squealing of the breaks stopped and the two canines were thrown back, barely clinging on to the roof as they picked up speed. There was a loud thud as the Hippo leapt onto the grassy embankment and rolled to a stop, before gingerly picking himself up. Nick and Manny could merely return to the cabin and look on gutted.

"Well… it's up to Judy and the force now," Nick finally said, after struggling to come up with a reply to yet another defeat. "Let's stop this stupid thing."

Nick stepped over to his cabins controls and surveyed the damage. The accelerator was gone, with the throttle still stuck on full, while the brake pedal was missing. A quick glance to the cabin ahead showed the same scene.

Manny looked on glumly, before managing a small chuckle, "is there a red and a green wire we could cross?"

Nick merely grunted, "Not the time Manny…"

"Speaking of time, how long do you think we'll be stuck on these things?"

"How much fuel do we have?" Nick asked, trailing off as his eyes hovered over a dismembered fuel gauge, its arrow planted firmly to the right.

.

.

- **Bogo** -

.

' _This is dispatch, our helicopter crew has spotted a suspect, Hippo, middle aged, on a stolen moped heading south towards the Docks/ Happytown border. Over.'_

Bogo grunted with anger, from what he had gathered this mammal was the ringleader of the organisation. To hear that he was still on the loose made his blood boil. Swallowing his anger, he looked over at Clawhauser.

"If those idiots don't capture the ring leader, I'm sure as hell going to catch his Henchman," he said, his toned deep and laced with authority. "Steady the car, I'm going to take out his wheels."

Clawhauser nodded in understanding and reduced his twitching as Bogo's window was lowered. The wind howled and buffeted outside, causing Bogo's eyes to flinch. Pulling out a tranquiliser gun, he leaned out of the window just as the music from the CD reached its crescendo.

The first shot sailed through the air, smashing the rear windscreen and causing the driver to look around in panic. The second impacted the bumper, before being shaken off. The third hit the blue cars wheel, but only made a pinhole leak before it was snapped off and crushed on the hard surface of the motorway slip road. The fourth went wide, careering off the embankment and hopefully landing on a warehouse roof or somewhere. The fifth shot through the empty glass and embedded itself on the headrest, causing the driver no end of extra panic as his driving became even more erratic. The sixth and final shot of the clip sail through the car and struck the front windscreen, cracking but not shattering it. Bogo leaned back into the car and attempted to reload the clip, only for a dart to snap and jam the mechanism. The futile clicks of the broken device only angered the police chief further as he closed his window and said words he never thought he would have to say.

"Clawhauser, faster."

Clawhauser nodded and put his foot down further. At full throttle and highest gear, he weaved through the traffic on the motorway in pursuit of the fugitive. The Ox's car, meanwhile, squealed and shook as he weaved forward between traffic, crossing from lane to lane with reckless abandon. Approaching the dock area, the radio crackled to life again.

 _'Bogo, main suspect is approaching your vehicle. Officer Hopps is in pursuit but at a long distance. Can you intercept?'_

"Negative," Bogo replied sternly, as they finally drew level to the blue car. The Ox in side was panicking, a danger to both himself and the public. Bogo's eyes drew level with him for a second before Clawhauser turned left, pushing the blue car into the hard shoulder. The outer barrier of the elevated road was skimming past on the cars right, ready to slow him to a stop. He had other ideas, however, and slammed on the brakes. Bogo watched as the car fell back behind them before sharply turning left onto an abandoned off ramp. Bogo began to curse, but was cut short as was thrown forward. His seatbelt straining, he watched as the world span in a blur before it settled back again. Before he knew it, he was in the hard shoulder, driving down a motorway in the wrong direction with cars travelling past then at close to eighty miles per hour. The brief terror that rattled the hardened police chief began to subside as they turned right onto the off ramp in order to follow their target.

"Clawhauser," Bogo said, looking at his driver, "just for the record, those kind of moves were why we put you on desk duty."

The fat cheetah merely chuckled, "in that case those moves were the best ones I ever made."

Thrown back into the back of their seats, they saw the blue car up ahead. It had been dawdling, likely thinking about what move to make next, but the unexpected sight of the police cruiser made up its mind. It turned around, and raced along the ramp.

"Faster," Bogo said, as the blue car smashed through a set of construction barriers and warning signs.

"Faster," Bogo repeated, as the sudden end of the ramp, a precipice above a seedy part of downtown came into view.

"Faster," Bogo ordered, as the pursued vehicle finally put on the breaks. Smoke billowed from its wheel arches as it ground to a halt, its front teetering over the edge of the bridge. Suddenly, the back tires roared to life and pulled the stricken vehicle off the ramp. It raced backwards, hitting some object and flipping back. Stunned by the seemingly blatant rejection of the laws of physics, Bogo and Clawhauser watched the car flip over them and land on all four wheels behind them, as if by some divine intervention. Bogo and Clawhauser looked back in awe, until of course, Clawhauser glanced forward.

"Oh My Goodness!"

As ride of the Valkyries reached its peak once more, the police car flew off the end of the highway ramp. For a few seconds, the two officers flew in stunned silence in the air, their car back dropped against the blue water and gleaming skyscrapers. Then the descent began, falling faster and faster towards the waiting ground.

Bogo looked over to the silent Clawhauser, and spoke the sincerest words he had ever said, "I've always loved you."

Clawhauser looked back in silence as their cars smashed into the ground. The deafening thud accompanied by a great billowing of dust and debris around them. As the dust settled, only one sound could be heard. The coughing of a water buffalo. Every joint and muscle in his body ached but he was OK, his tough build and the cars suspension saving him.

"Well… this is awkward," came a quiet voice. Clawhauser, hurt but not seriously injured, looked across the car back at Bogo. Despite the noises of the city outside, inside was deathly quiet. That was until a load thump shook the two officers out of their limbo. Looking around them, they saw a battered moped behind them while, turning forward, they saw a crumbled mass of Hippo at the base of a wall.

"Shall um… shall I book him or you?" Bogo asked sheepishly.

.

- **Judy** -

.

.

" _This is dispatch. Officers Bogo and Clawhauser report that the main suspect is deceased after a vehicle accident at speed. Over. All focus should be directed towards the secondary target, currently spotted having hijacked a small red car, over._ "

.

Judy gritted her teeth and raced forward. She didn't want the ring leader to die, she had wanted him captured and put through the gears of the legal machine. But he was finally gone and, in any case, Judy had no time to think over the morals and ethics. She had a second fugitive to catch. Her sirens blazing, she followed the continuous instructions of the dispatch officer until she spotted the vehicle. It spotted her too and began racing away. Slamming her foot down, Judy raced up to catch the fleeing vehicle. Her front end came level with his boot and she turned right, attempting to spin him out. Tires squealed as he spun, the two cars coming to a stop in the middle of the street. Before she could act, however, the car raced forwards towards a level crossing. Its lights were flashing and barriers dropped. Knowing this was one thing that she wouldn't risk, Judy slowed hoping that Conner Oxley risk it either. Sadly, he had a different opinion, his speed increasing as he weaved towards the edge of the arm. He clipped past it, only to be met with his death. Judy looked on as his car, with a deafening smash, was crushed in front of the strange train hurtling across the road. Its two little carriages were like a sledgehammer, writing off the car and the driver in an instant. Wincing about what she was about to see, Judy exited her car and jogged over to the railway. Looking down the track, she saw the heap of wreckage in the distance and two figures stumbling out. For a moment, the air was silent, until a deafening scream pierced the air.

" **JUUUUUDDDDYYYYY!** "


	23. Chapter 23

- **Judy** -

.

A wise man had once told Judy that life wasn't some cartoon musical where you could sing a little song and your insipid dreams would come true. It seemed that life didn't have fairy tale endings either, where the hero would overcome his great burden and everyone would live happily ever after. Judy mulled this over as she pulled up outside the large white building and exited her car.

.

The lobby was light and airy with comfortable seating for those waiting. Happy murals and soft landscape paintings decorated the walls while various flowers stood in jars on the glass tables. Wandering over to the reception desk, Judy looked up at the smiling receptionist and began to speak, before being interrupted.

"Here for Mr Wilde?" she asked, softly, to which Judy replied by meekly nodding her head. The receptionist picked up her phone and exchanged a few words before placing it down. "Not that I'm supposed to confide patient details, but I hear he's made some real progress. This should be the last weekend stopover."

"Thanks," Judy replied with a smile on her face but a glum tone. She knew she should be happy, but the shock of what had happened since Nick was taken still haunted her. While most of the victims who were rescued from the fight club had no or little recollection, many were traumatised and required major medical and psychological care. After a brief mental assessment and overnight stay in hospital to remove the mouth guard and patch him up, Nick had returned to his redecorated home almost as if nothing had happened. He jibed, he laughed, he grinned smugly and replied sarcastically as they discussed mindless fluff and nonsense. But the first night back at his place, Judy had been tossed out of bed in the small hours by a panicking Nick. A night terror racking his brain, his limbs flayed around trying to swat away the invisible enemy. Then, they had turned on himself as they clawed and tore at the non-existent muzzle. By this point, Judy had been screaming and pleading with him to shake out of it. Ultimately, she had resorted to throwing a pail of cold water over him in order to jolt him awake. Had his claws been fully grown, Judy dreaded to think what sort of damage he would have done to himself. Thankfully, however, the injuries were limited to ruffled up fur, a wet mattress and dignity. Composing himself, fur dripping wet, Nick had merely smiled and chuckled, "Thanks Fluff" as if trying to prove to the world that it wouldn't get to him.

.

These terrors were far worse than his old, occasional nightmares and soon occurred every night, often multiple times. Judy became more and more worried with each passing day, not only for Nicks mental state but also the dire consequences that would happen when his claws regrew. As if to poke him further, the letters and abuse from Millie's supporters continued, albeit at a reduced pace. Judy tried to bury them, burn them or throw them out but some would always slip the net and weave their way to him. Sometimes it was phone calls, which left Nick silent for an hour or more after he absorbed the thin sliver if vitriol spilled out in the time between picking up the phone and slamming it down. Other times it was graffiti, which Nick responded to by looking the other way and making up excuses about why he didn't need to go outside. It was the muzzle, however, hung in front of their door, menacingly placed at nose level, that did it. Judy was filing through some paperwork on her laptop when he went to answer the knock. She had heard the scream and ran out, finding him huddled down and weeping into his paws. His breath racing, Judy remembered her training for dealing with panic attacks and slowly wound Nick's terror down to manageable levels. There were a few times when he almost relapsed, but after a phone call to his parents he seemed stable.

After that incident, Nick came to the agreement with Judy that he had to seek help. Bogo had offered counselling after his rescue, but the suave fox had previously declined it. Turning up to the ZPD to finally take up on the offer, the stroll across the main concourse turned into a humiliating scene thanks to a teenage African hunting dog. At the time, he was making no fuss and walking down towards the cells in front of an officer. During his arrest, however, things must have been more violent as he had been fitted with a muzzle. The brief glint of metal in Nick's eye had set off yet another attack and Judy had to ask officer Nileworthy to carry him up to the psychiatrists, cradled in his arms. Judy had waited outside for two hours in the reception room, ears straining to hear the tense conversation behind the door, before being invited in for the grim prognosis. The deadpan words of the doctor replayed in her mind.

" _Officer Wilde is suffering from a severe case of post-traumatic stress with a classical delayed reaction. It was evident that… these devices caused Nicholas great discomfort before the recent events, but considering what has happened to him and may continue to happen, his mind has developed a severe phobia which will likely be incurable. I strongly advise that Mr Wilde spends two weeks in a local mental facility in order to work on limiting and controlling his day time panic attacks and night terrors. As he has a wide support group, we can then transfer to Monday to Friday stays and then work our way down to weekend stays. After that, he can come in for weekly appointments for as long as it takes._ "

'As long as it takes', Judy thought. Four months had passed and the first orange leaves were appearing on the trees in the city parks. For the first week, things had even seemed to get worse with Nick suffering panic attacks from the smallest triggers, such as the load clatter of a cutlery tray, or no triggers at all (although Judy was told that it may have been a stray thought or memory). However, things had improved, and the Nick that Judy loved had slowly begun to re-establish himself. After two weeks, Nick began staying with Judy and his parents at weekends and soon, he was staying with them Monday to Friday. But he was still broken, Judy and the Wilde's could feel it, and so he kept staying in over the weekend for help and care. Until now… finally, she hoped, her Fox had returned.

.

"Begging them to keep me away from you, Fluff?" came the cheeky voice of the Fox, just exiting the doorway at that very moment.

' _Returned a bit too fast?_ ' Judy jokingly thought, merely smiling and waving at her sly fox. Walking forward, they smiled and embraced each other, before silently walking out to Judy's car. Getting inside, they drove off in an awkward silence. It lasted a few minutes, both parties unsure of what to say, until Nick chose to break the Ice.

"Got the new Gazelle Album Carrots?" he asked, smiling innocently.

"Not really, still sort of gone off her." Judy replied, looking up at Nick, her right eyelid half lidded in confusion. Nick looked on and smiled.

"She gave me a private apology for her actions and said I was a hero for what I did."

"But she didn't give you a public apology or endorsement, did she?" Judy counteracted.

Nick merely shrugged, "She's cut her friendship with Millie," he said encouragingly.

"But she still supports Millie's cause."

"Good cause… just got a bad posterchild."

"If I were you… I wouldn't have forgiven Gazelle."

Nick sighed, before looking back at her, "Well, Fluff. I've seen many good people become friends with bad people and not realize. It happens, I mean look at you."

Judy smiled, and gently pushed Nick away while chuckling, "you… my bad Fox."

Nick stifled a laugh with his paw and smiled, "I was talking about Mr Big" he said nonchalantly, "but… OK. Bad Fox it is. Think I should buy a top hat and twirly moustache for when I next meet your parents…"

"Yeh right… suppose it can't make their opinion of you any worse… But it's my life I want to spend with you, not theirs."

.

- **Nick** -

.

.

"Enter…" called Bogo, his tone disinterested as he idly flicked through paper reports. His eyes glanced up as he stapled several documents together but, on seeing who was entering, he stood up sharply and smiled.

"Officer Wilde, so glad you could make it. How's life been?"

"… Boring," Nick shrugged as he hopped into a seat.

"Well then," Bogo replied, smiling as he grabbed some files, "I'm sure you'd like to get back on the beat." Bogo's smile faded as Nick remained still, looking down slightly and disinterested. "Wilde?"

"I would love to return to policing sir but…" Nick began quickly, before choking back on some of his words.

"But?" Bogo continued, getting concerned.

"But I don't think I'm able to sir. As a police officer, it is inevitable that I will see and have to work around… muzzles," Nick said, twitching slightly as he said the M word. "Thanks to the therapy, I can deal with the word and see the device in front of me. But I shake like a wolf getting out of water when I try and touch them… and to see… to see someone struggling inside, I think that could tip me over." Nick sniffled slightly, his eyes slightly glazed over. Embarrassed to be acting so emotional in front of the police chief, Nick looked away like a Kit being told off by a school principle.

Bogo leaned forward, his right arm slightly outstretched, before pulling it back in. "Theoretically, we can transfer you from the officer roster and put you onto backroom office duty and assistance with detained mammals."

Nick looked up and smiled, "I'd like to come in, on occasion to help. Small time crook to small time crook and what not… But office duty is the least favourite parts of this job. I was a cop despite that stuff, I don't think I could keep sane if it was all I did. I accept your offer for the meantime, money and all, but… I'll be looking for something… more stimulating to spend my time on."

"Understood," Bogo said, his voice followed by a deathly silence. Nick sat up and fumbled with his paw, unpinning his badge. He slid the gleaming metal across the desk, before looking up and smiling. For a moment, as he saluted, Nicks eyes were once more alive with pride and happiness like they were when he graduated. Bogo saluted back with complete sincerity, and Nick turned, wandering out towards the exit.

"You're a great loss to us Nick. Stay safe…" Bogo said, to which Nick replied by perking his ears up. Turning and smiling, he turned back. "You too sir."

.

Nick rubbed his arms slightly as he walked down the street. A definite autumn chill was in the air, his fur responding by fluffing out. Office duty had always been a necessary evil to Nick, and that was when he was invested in what he was putting into the reports. Signing, copying, typing up, notarising, stamping… Nick was not the kind of mammal that could stay sane doing that kind of work for a living, and considering his recent time investment in the sanity department, he didn't want to risk it for long. He sighed slightly, remembering that however much he didn't like being a 'con-man' (although his dad always reminded him that it was simply legitimate, albeit informal, business) he liked the actual work it entailed. Nick was a natural salesman, he did like walking about and meeting people. Small talk and seeing the world go past on a warm day… it was the things Nick liked as part of work. One of the reasons he so enjoyed being a police officer, too.

A horn startled Nick, waking him up from the daydream.

"Watch where you're going, FOX!"

As always, his species name was shouted out with poisonous vitriol. No other species got that… apart from maybe pigs, but that often came in a disgusted tone rather than hatred. Nick saw the driver, a middle aged ram, pull his van out of an alley and drive down the road. Carrying on, he was struck by an odd sense of Deja-vu. Looking around, he laughed to himself, this was where he had met Judy a year and a half ago. Looking up to his right, he spotted the glass windows of Jerry Jumbojeux Jn's ice cream emporium, and paused. Inside were three Jumbo pops, cool and refreshing, waiting inside. Nick glanced around, before walking back and resting against the wall. What was he thinking? Was all the effort and work in the last year and a half for naught? So much effort and hope, was he right all along? Would the world only ever let him be a stinking conniving con-fox… He wandered off and found a private bench in the shade beneath a tree. Settling down, he pulled out his phone and rang Judy. Their conversation went on for close to an hour, in which time Nick had alternated from crying, to laughing, to smiling, to snarking… After hanging up, he exited the alley and rested once more on the parlours glass frontage. He looked inside at the Jumbo pops and briefly smiled, while flipping over a coin between his fingers.


	24. Epilogue

- **Epilogue** -

.

"Pawpsicles… get your Pawpsicles here…" Nick cried out, smiling as he handed over the frozen treats to a line of lemmings wandering past. Each one was exchanged for two dollars, which Nick expertly collected in his paws. With the last treat sold, Nick watched as the ice was nibbled away, before the hot sun could melt a single drop, and the sticks were thrown into a set of city recycling bins, that soon burst open as Finnick hauled them out.

"Got the address?" Nick called out, catching the attention of his companion.

"I get lost… ONE TIME… and you still don't trust me?" Finnick shot back.

"I trust you…" Nick said, chuckling as he replied, "my trust for you is as long as your trunk is."

The Fennec grumbled as he hauled the carts into his van. Standing in the doorway, he shrugged as he fumbled around in a drawer, before pulling out a heap of grey cloth with a pink heart hidden beneath the folds.

Nick's eyes opened at the revelation, "I thought you burned that thing!" Nick's laughs filled the air, drowning out the city noises, as Finnick merely grumbled and locked the back door. Stepping through a hatchway into the front, Finnick started the engine and after a few loud backfires, the rusty van rolled off with French rap music leaking out of the windows. After contemplating how Finnick's ludicrous ears could handle such as racket without damage, Nick turned around and pushed his own ice stand into a separate van, which he hopped into before driving off. He drove slowly and surely out of the warm downtown area, before diving through the tundratown tunnel. The metal panels wailed as the cold permeated them and caused them to shrink, but Nick was used to the sound now. Turning off the main road, he meandered down towards the waterfront and, reaching the low industrial units of the dock areas, turned off into a car park, passing a simple sign on his way.

Unit 29:

Original Pawpsicle Co.

Finn's sanitation Inc.

Pulling the van up inside the warehouse, he pulled out the ice trolley and pushed it into a cool area. There were several other trolleys there, along with moulds filled with slowly freezing juice and boxes and boxes of supplies and goods. Grabbing a parka, Nick continued into the backroom where another familiar face stood.

"Good day's sales Nick?"

"Enjoyable as ever," Nick replied, with a smile on his face.

"Well, I've got some good news," continued the Maned wolf, as he fumbled with some papers. "I've worked out why our grass flavour pops were falling apart, the cellulose was too tough and it created lines of weakness. By using some softer meadow grass, with some pampas and marram for flavour, I've got it to work."

"Good," replied Nick, with a smirk and a thumbs up, "first delivery?"

"To Mr Stripe's establishment… free of charge thanks to the samples and advice he provided."

Nick nodded and slunk into his back office. Built into the rock, it was somewhat resistant to the pervasive chill of the district. Across the walls hung reports and spreadsheets, showing increased sales and profit for his new business. It had been a tough year, but he and his friends had made it happen. He was proud, he had turned his age old hustle into a real business, with employees! He mentally kicked himself, a common habit, he should have done this years ago. The idea had always lingered in the back of his mind during his hustling days, he always had the money… but, for however smug he confident he looked, he didn't have the confidence in himself to do it. He was just a Fox, a bottom feeder who knew his place. That was until he met Judy… Judy, now there was a very good reason to have never turned his hustle legitimate before now. Thinking about her, he picked up his phone and began scrolling through a set of websites. Reviews and information flicked past before something caught Nicks eye. Pausing, he looked further, passing images of bracelets, watches, earrings and… Nick was silent in thought for a moment, a small grin widening on his face, as his claw hovered over a picture of particular piece of jewellery, a small green gemstone set into a ring of warm gold…

A sudden ring and vibration shook Nick out of his daydream. Looking at the caller, he chuckled and slapped himself, "too soon," he commented. Composing himself, straightening his tie and all that, he picked up the call.

"Hello… Carrots!... yup… I know we both have to be there to sign it… yup… give me twenty minutes and I'll be at the estate agents, OK, love you too." He popped the phone away before rising up and stretching. Making for the door, he paused and glanced over at a picture frame on a desk. Picking it up, he looked down at himself proudly dressed in parade blue, with a badge being pinned on by a grey bunny. The room was silent for a moment, before the sound of a gentle patter filled the air. A teardrop, and then another, dropped onto the glass in the picture frame before Nick set it back on the table and quietly wandered out.

 **Authors notes:** **Well, it's been a pleasure writing this fanfic. I've seen my writing skills come on a lot and have also learned that there are areas that I do need to work on some more (particularly with 3d OC characterisation, plot and stuff. (Looking back, while the courthouse plot-line was meant to come in as a sucker punch/ curve ball, it didn't mesh well with the main plot as well as it could have.))**

 **Anyhow, with the recent release of new info for Zoodytopia, I've been working on a fanfic that aims to follow the original plotline as close as possible. I'm about 40,000 words and 2/5ths of the way in already and I'll be updating on a regular basis. I also have some ideas for a murder mystery fanfic and a watchmen inspired zoodystopian fic, although I haven't put any words to paper on those yet.**

 **If anyone has questions they'd like to ask me, slap them in a review and I'll try to reply (either in the comments or in a separate chapter.)**


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